28/05/2026
We are so grateful to Séamus Conaty for sharing his story so openly during Brain Cancer Awareness Month.
Séamus was diagnosed with a high-grade astrocytoma after experiencing worsening headaches, nausea, vomiting and numbness down his left side. His story is a powerful reminder of how suddenly life can change, and why awareness matters.
We are very fortunate that Séamus is now part of Cancer Trials Ireland’s Patient Consultants Committee, where he brings his lived experience and perspective to our work. He is also a member of our Central Nervous System Disease-Specific Sub-Group, helping to ensure that patient voices are part of how cancer trials are developed, understood and communicated.
Patient partnership is at the heart of what we do. It helps us make sure that our work reflects the needs, concerns and experiences of people affected by cancer.
Thank you to Séamus for sharing his story, and to the Irish Cancer Society for helping bring it to a wider audience.
You can read Séamus’s full story below.
Séamus Conaty, 36, who lives in Dublin and is originally from Monaghan, started getting headaches in the summer of 2023. He initially put this down to being a new parent, as his son was born that June, and he was also working in a stressful job.
“On the August bank holiday, I had the first headache that was so bad it actually stopped me in my tracks,” says Séamus, who is sharing his story to mark Brain Cancer Awareness Month.
“I’d gone to my GP about it, who initially thought my symptoms were most likely linked to my heart, as I was also experiencing low blood pressure and dizzy spells when I stood up.”
However, on Christmas Day 2023, before he received the results of tests on his heart, things took a turn. Séamus woke up earlier than usual as he felt unwell. This worsened throughout the day, and later lead to a diagnosis that he never expected.
“That morning I had a headache that kept getting worse, and this was quickly followed by nausea, vomiting and a numbness down my left side.”
A brain MRI later that day identified a tumour in the right frontal lobe and that night he was on the operating table in Beaumont Hospital, to undergo an emergency brain surgery.
“In the waiting room the surgeon’s registrar told my wife and my parents that they had three aims for the surgery. The first was to remove as much of the tumour as possible, the second was to preserve as much of my functioning as possible, and the third and most critical aim, was to save my life. It really drove home the severity of the situation and what was at stake.”
After the surgery, Séamus was placed in an induced coma for over 24 hours. Several days later, he received his full diagnosis, a high-grade astrocytoma.
Read Seamus's full story: https://brnw.ch/21x2RY9
