Healthy food is my armour and weapon against my cancer
After a terminal diagnosis, Alannah Sheehan transformed her diet
A YOUNG mother of three who was given between 12 and 15 months to live after she was diagnosed with incurable brain cancer has revealed how her transformed diet has become her ‘lifeline’.
Alannah Sheehan’s entire world was turned upside down after she was diagnosed with GBM (glioblastoma multiforme), a fastgrowing and aggressive brain tumour, in March 2020.
Just four months earlier, Alannah and husband Martin had moved their young family into a new home in Co. Tipperary and welcomed the arrival of their third child – ‘the sale of the house came through on the day I gave birth’.
In February, Alannah suffered a serious seizure during which she ‘lost consciousness and ended up in an ambulance not knowing where I was’.
She recalls: ‘I knew I had children, but I couldn’t remember their names – it was the scariest experience of my life.’
But her fear turned to devastation when, after having surgery, she got the diagnosis that would change her and her family’s lives forever.
‘I got the phone call and fell to the ground,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t able to breathe, I wasn’t able to talk. I was 32 and I was told it was incurable, it was terminal. The normal survival time was 12 to 15
‘I’m all about solutions; there was no solution’
months; that was with treatment.
‘At the time, my children were so young… Phoebe was a few weeks old, Luca was two and Finn was four, so we were just… I don’t even have the words. The pain was just unbelievable.
‘I’m a “if you have a problem, find a solution” type of person. I don’t sit around and dwell. I’m all about action and solutions, but there was no solution... it was what it was.
‘It was like living in a nightmare… we just cried and cried. Holding my husband’s hand was painful. Being around my children was just too painful at times because I couldn’t look at them without crying.
‘I never, ever thought that situation would improve. I was waking up at night-time crying… I was just preparing to die.’
Alannah set up a blog on Instagram, @worth_fighting4, initially for her children ‘to leave breadcrumbs of who their mam was’.
She said: ‘I knew I couldn’t convey how I felt in a letter. Instagram was a great way to tick all the boxes; I could leave pictures, written messages, videos… let them know how much I love them. They could actually see who I was as a person and get my personality.’
But her blog also began to attract a large following from outside her family circle. Many people contacted Alannah with their own stories, giving her renewed strength and optimism.
She used her platform to highlight the lack of funding for brain tumour research – ‘the annual health spend is less than 1%’ – and changed her lifestyle as she set out on a new ‘healing route’.
Alannah, a former chef whose mother and grandmothers were also talented cooks, rekindled her love affair with food and completely transformed her diet.
Aside from her family, she said ‘food is definitely the most important relationship I have now.
‘Food and healthy eating is my life; it is literally my lifeline and the most important thing that I do for my body. I wake up every day and I fight this battle with food. It’s my whole belief system; when I eat well, I feel well. When I don’t, I really suffer, especially mentally.
‘Mentally, when I don’t have that juice in the morning… I know it sounds dramatic, but I feel like I’m dying. I don’t get that rush of energy from my food. I feel slow, I panic, because it’s my only protection against this [cancer]. ‘Food is my armour, my weapon.’ Alannah began juicing shortly after her cancer diagnosis. Her ‘number one juicing rule’ is to ‘eat your fruit and juice your vegetables’ to keep sugar to a minimum.
The healthy-food blogger drinks celery, cucumber and lemon juice each morning, often followed by a ‘shot’ of ginger/turmeric/parsley.
‘Juicing removes the fibre from your ingredients and floods your body with nutrients. The body absorbs them quickly as it doesn’t have to break down the fibre.
‘It boosts my energy... provides me with minerals and nutrients. Most of all it gives me mental clarity, making me feel proactive in my fight against cancer.’
Four years on from her diagnosis, she’s determined to keep defying the odds and believes her healthy diet and positive mindset will help sustain her for years to come.
‘I really believe I’m saving myself every day,’ she added. ‘Looking at me, you wouldn’t think I have cancer. My energy levels are through the roof; I’m looking after three small children every day… so I’m very, very lucky.’
As part of her drive to highlight the benefits of healthy eating, Alannah has joined forces with the founders of a new two-day event, FoodieFest, at Co. Kilkenny’s Mountain View, on the May bank holiday weekend.
Labelled a ‘celebration of food for the mind, body and soul’, FoodieFest is the brainchild of Mountain View co-owner Bee O’Grady, who is a palliative care nurse, and award-winning nutritionist Laura Warren of Elite Living Nutrition.
Part of the proceeds of the festival – which will feature eight contestants from the UK MasterChef series giving master classes in a wide array of food types and cooking styles – will be donated to the Irish Cancer Society.
Alannah said of the festival: ‘It’s such a wonderful, fun idea, and it’s giving people a great opportunity to learn about food and how it can transform your life for the better.
‘I really think there needs to be more awareness and knowledge around food, and events like this are a great – and fun – way to have positive conversations.’
Laura Warren calls Alannah ‘an inspiration’ in transforming not just her own life, but those of many others she’s helped.
‘I really believe I’m saving myself’