Rita McAlonan is a woman whose steely determination has seen her survive against the odds. The mum of two from Nutts Corner was dealt a devastating blow when she was diagnosed with advanced metastatic breast cancer in January 2021 – made even more difficult to accept as she was alone at the time, and it came after multiple trips to…
Gina Potter counts the likes of Charlotte Hawkins, Nadia Sawalha and Jenni Falconer among the fans of her funky hand-printed t-shirts. The fashion-forward Bangor entrepreneur set up her business after a bowel cancer diagnosis when she was just 42 years old forced her to reassess her life priorities. Gina believes her story demonstrates it is possible to live again after…
Life for most teenagers is filled with homework, nights out with friends and worrying about exam results. However, by the time Ruthie Stewart was 19 years old, she had made peace with the idea of her own death after years of suffering with inflammatory bowel disease. Aged just 15 when doctors told her she had Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis,…
Margaret McVey was in her late 30s when she received a life-changing diagnosis. An MRI scan revealed she had multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurological condition that causes a range of symptoms including difficulty walking, blurred vision and painful muscle spasms. At the time doctors told her she had MS, Margaret, from The Loup, had a young family and the unknown…
So many of our student memories are of parties in pretty filthy, dingy, damp-infested houses in south Belfast. But 5 St Ives Gardens just off the Stranmillis Road is anything but that. This four-bedroom stunner has caught our eye, not just for its fabulous décor, but because of the light that floods in throughout. Let’s forget its five-star location, close…
This mini heatwave we’re experiencing might be about to burst but hasn’t it just put you in the mood for chilling in the garden, glass in hand? This five-bedroom split level house would be the perfect place to enjoy life outdoors with its own bar and barbecue area – it’s definitely quite the home for those who love entertaining! Located…
The nightmare endured by Shannon Meenan-Browse should act as a warning to us all. Very few of us are entirely comfortable in our own skin and, as such, an increasing number of people from Northern Ireland are travelling abroad for surgery – either because it isn’t available here or because it costs significantly less to have the operation done in…
One of the things Fiona Jane Kerr loves most about working as a wedding photographer is the relationship she builds with her couples. She gets to know them before their big day, she finds out about the story that brought them together in the first place, about their hopes and dreams for the future. They are more than just clients…
Presenter Pamela Ballantine has shared a video showing her ‘ringing the bell’ to signal the end of her radiotherapy. A clearly delighted Pamela rings the bell to a round of applause and cheers, raising her arms into the air and curtseying as she laughs. The milestone is a welcome point for any cancer patient – allowing them to celebrate the…
It’s a fact that cervical screening saves lives. The cervical screening programme in Northern Ireland is offered to women aged between 25 and 64 to prevent cervical cancer. More commonly known as a smear test, it is aimed at women who have no symptoms of disease, and detects pre-cancerous changes in cells that line the cervix. Despite the screening programme’s…