Kilkenny creative and advocate Ciara Foskin has recently published her first poetry collection, drawing on her experiences with cancer. 

Ciara is an ambassador for the Marie Keating Foundation, which provides support services for cancer patients and their families, as well as conducting vital awareness and information campaigns alongside other advocacy work. 

Ciara Foskin recently spoke with GCN about her experience with cancer and how this brought her to the creative outlet of poetry. 

“I was diagnosed with one of the rarer, aggressive breast cancers- Triple Negative, in February 2024. I found a hard lump in my left breast, that was my only symptom”, she shared. 

The Marie Keating Foundation recently launched their ‘Do it for the One you Love’ campaign to encourage people to regularly self-check their breasts, seeking to support early cancer detection. Ciara, as an ambassador for the organisation, has been involved in speaking on this campaign. 

For Ciara, her illness was “a frightening, gruelling time”. After three rounds of chemo, the process was halted, given the toll it had taken.

She underwent intense surgery in June of 2024, and further chemotherapy after this. She described the recovery process as “just existing, a shadow of my former self”. 

In channelling her experiences through poetry, Ciara spoke of her consistent love for writing and for languages. The title for her collection originated from her reflection on hair loss caused by illness. “I found it so traumatic and upsetting to lose my long, thick hair and remember saying to my then-partner, that forget Meet the Fockers, it’s like meet the follicles when I realised I’d be completely bald”. 

Through crafting her poetry collection, Ciara saw writing as a way to “cope and frame what was happening”. She hopes that, through sharing these poems, she can offer comfort to those going through similar experiences. 

She shared with us her emotions about curating this collection: “I’m feeling so happy about giving the emotional and psychological side of cancer a voice and using this book as a platform to share how tough it has been”. 

She has felt a loss of control throughout her journey with illness, and noted that the process of writing this collection gave “a sense of empowerment through self-expression”. 

She encourages those going through cancer, or at the start of their treatment, to remember that they are not alone. As an ambassador for the Marie Keating foundation, she notes the many supports they have on offer, including the Comfort Fund financial assistance. 

She concludes by advising “rest when you need it, be kind to yourself and surround yourself with those that are good to you and for you”. 

Ciara’s new book, Meet the Follicles, will be officially launched on November 11, in The Book Centre in Kilkenny, where it is available to purchase. It will also be available to order online from next week. 

 

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