Ireland AM stars Tommy and Muireann fight back tears in emotional interview with young mum who has incurable cancer

IRELAND AM stars Tommy Bowe and Muireann O’Connell fought back tears during an emotional interview with a young mum who has an incurable cancer diagnosis.

Hairdresser Leona Macken, 38, appeared on the hit chat show this morning to discuss her devastating diagnosis.

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Leona Macken appeared on Ireland AM as a guest this morning[/caption]

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Muireann and Tommy were emotional during the interview[/caption]

Leona was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer in June 2023 and underwent radical surgery followed by postoperative chemoradiotherapy.

Despite intensive treatment, recurrence of her cancer was diagnosed in March 2025 and has advanced to stage four.

Leona took legal action from what she said were failures in the CervicalCheck screening programme in 2016 and 2020.

Last Tuesday an apology was read to the High Court as the young mum, and her husband, Alan, settled a High Court action against the HSE.

Leona spoke about her several health checks in the years prior to her diagnosis.

She told viewers: “I went for my eligible one [smear test] in 2013, that was grand. I didn’t hear anything back.

“In 2016, I was due a smear again and I was like, ‘Right, we’ll do this before we start planning on having a baby’. Went and got that done, came back fine, got on with my life again.

“Then I had two babies in 2017 and 2019 and everything was fine. I went for another smear in 2020 and it was fine as well.

“As the years went on, I kind of started noticing a few little symptoms, nothing that I was too kind of worried about.

“I had two babies, I was thinking I was getting older, my body was changing. And I kind of started going with like little symptoms; pelvic pains and irregular periods, things like that.

“We started just doing tests here and there. Again, I wasn’t stressing it too much because I never ever thought [of] cancer at all. I thought, ‘I’d had all my smears’.”

Leona was experiencing symptoms about “a year and a half before” her smear test in 2020 and had an ultrasound done in January 2023 that “came back fine”.

She was then due to have another smear test in 2023 and it came back with “high grade abnormalities”.

Leona explained: “When I got that call that’s when I went, ‘Oh my God, it’s getting a lot more serious here’, and that’s when I was told that I need to go for a colposcopy.

‘THAT’S A LOT’

“And by this stage, I was looking at like the early cancer symptoms and I literally had every one of them. And that’s when I kind of realised, ‘Okay, this is cancer’. Like I kind of had it in my head before I was diagnosed almost.”

Leona had a colposcopy which confirmed she had cancer in June 2023 and just weeks later in July 2023, she had a hysterectomy.

Muireann sympathised with Leona saying: “I know you know you have cancer, but when you’re told you’re having a hysterectomy, that’s a lot.”

Leona replied: “It was a lot. I was like, ‘Just get this out of my body, let’s just get this done – whatever I have to do, I’ll do it’. And look, we were confident enough. They said I was like stage 1B2 and we’ll do the hysterectomy and it should be okay.

‘HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?’

“And then when I came out of the hysterectomy, they kind of said, ‘Look, we had to look at lymph nodes and stuff’, and then I found out after that there was lymph node involvement.

“So then I was up to like stage 3C1. That’s when they kind of started talking to me about chemotherapy and radiotherapy.”

Tommy asked: “And did you feel that they were listening to you at this stage?”

Leona responded: “I kind of felt like they were listening to me to a certain extent. But again, I was like thinking, ‘How did I how did this happen?’, I would ask, like, ‘How I how did I go from a perfect smear in 2020 to now?’.

PAINFUL JOURNEY

“A part of me was almost afraid to ask the hard questions as well in case I almost upset someone or offended. I had a lot of questions myself. That’s when I started looking into it when I was at home.”

When asked how she found out she had stage four cancer, Leona explained: “Just this year in January. I actually contacted them. So in 2024 I was in a lot of pain after he treatment first time around, they were saying like, ‘The radiotherapy has side effects’.

“At this stage, I was also menopause, I had a hysterectomy, I had chemo, there was a lot. It was hard to pinpoint what was causing what.

“It was really hard to kind of go, ‘Okay, this is what is causing this and this is what’. As much as it was hard to say, I was trying to articulate it as much as I could to each consultant that I went to.

“It was a bit of a mess. But again, I was trying my best to kind of say, ‘Who do I say this to?’. I was moving on pain killers, I was getting pain injections.

“And, I was thinking, ‘God, if I have to live with this, how am I going to manage it?’. Then in January, I just rang them and I was like, ‘Look, you have to see me. I’m just in too much pain’. And then it just all kind of kicked off again.

‘FLOORED ME’

“That was the appointment where I was kind of starting to get frustrated. I was like, ‘Look, I’ve been saying how much pain I’m in’.”

Leona detailed how she was told her cancer is “back and it’s stage four” during an appointment and when she asked if they can do treatment she was told they “possibly” could but it would be “just to keep it at bay”.

She added: “And that for me was the appointment that just floored me. I just felt like I tried to do everything to stay on top of it for so long. And I felt like I was chasing it for so long.”

Tommy said: “You done everything.”

Leona added: “I felt like I just let myself down. I didn’t win. And it was soul destroying. It was gut-wrenching. I think fell into the chair. I just wanted to get out of the appointment.

“We left and we just sat in the car and we just cried and cried and cried and cried. And then I had to go home and tell my parents.

‘SOUL DESTROYING’

“For me looking at my kids and just all I could see was what I was going to miss or what I wasn’t going to be there for.”

Tommy, who was tearing up, added: “And to have been going through that pain as well with them to see their mum in pain.”

Leona replied: “I mean, they’ve been absolutely amazing. But I can only protect them from so much.”

Muireann remarked: “I just I can’t imagine how angry I’d be. I’d want to shout it at the sky.”

Leona said: “I did have a lot of anger at the start. I think when I was first asking questions is when I had the most anger because I knew I’d done everything and I was so confident that I’d done everything.

‘SO SCARY’

“But I had to let go of it because it was just ruining now. And I just thought to myself, ‘All I have is now’, and all any of us have is now.

“I’m not the only family this is happening to. It is still happening. I’m not a lone wolf here and that’s the scary thing. These are abnormalities that are on slides that are very obvious that should be detected and early. And that’s that.

“Timing is everything with cancer. If I had been told this in 2016 or 2020, I would be living a completely different life today, that’s what’s hard to accept.”

Tommy said: “You said you’re not angry. It must… you’ve two young girls. It’s the fear.”

Leona replied: “It’s so scary. I mean, every single day I just look at them and I think how they’ll be without me. And like, I’m not giving up.

“I’ve looked into everything. I’m still looking into things and I’m not giving up.”

Leona’s husband Alan was also sat in the Virgin Media studio and both Muireann and Tommy got emotional as they addressed him an thanked Leona for her time.

Muireann said: “When you think you’ve got small problems and you see what you’re going through. Alan has been looking at you, your husband, the whole way.

“The love in his eyes, everything that you’re doing, you’re doing together. Obviously, it’s been so hard.

“You’ve got your family, you’ve got your girls. Regardless of how long it is, I know you’re going to keep on searching to stay as long as you can and you’re living your life.

“It can’t be easy doing this and we really appreciate it.”

Tommy added: “Thanks so much for coming on. To your little girls and of course Alan as well who’s here, thanks so much.”