'Nothing is too small, cancer doesn't discriminate'

Just under 12 months after she got the all-clear, Bríd O'Sullivan captains Mourneabbey against Kilkerrin-Clonberne in the currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Senior club final today.

She has already been successful with the captain’s armband twice at this stage of the competition, but this year holds a special significance.

"It started off as a bump in my thumb. I had it for quite a while and I just put it down to getting a bang in a match," said O’Sullivan. "It was never sore and I thought it was nothing but finally then in February of 2020 I was at the doctor and said it in passing."

That bump turned out to be soft tissue sarcoma, a cancer usually found in arms, legs, the chest, and abdomen, while hers had unusually developed in her right thumb. But initially it seemed benign and O’Sullivan’s doctor recommended getting a biopsy, more as a precaution than anything else.

Covid-19 was just taking hold in Ireland at the time and that was a contributory factor as the procedure was delayed until the following September.

The Cork stalwart still had her sights set on her football in the days prior to going under the knife.

"It was a small procedure under local anaesthetic and I remember at the time, it was a Wednesday and I was supposed to be playing a challenge game with Mourneabbey on the Friday," said O'Sullivan.

"To show how not worried I was about it, I was tempted to cancel the procedure because I knew I would have stitches in my thumb and I wouldn’t be able to play the challenge game. I ended up doing it anyway to get it over with.

"I got it removed on the Wednesday, strapped, played the game on the Friday and honestly did not give it a thought."

There was still no alarm from her health professionals but one phone call in late October