Emma, you were diagnosed this spring with multiple myeloma, the third most common blood cancer. How did you cope with being given that news?
In late February I was given a red flag referral to a haematologist following the incidental discovery of a lesion on my skull and paraproteins in my blood after presenting at A&E with severe dizziness and a very heavy headed feeling.
Of course the first thing I did was turn to Google, and the most obvious outcome was multiple myeloma. Even though the appointment was set within two weeks, the waiting felt like an eternity and every night I cried my heart out to my fiancé Jim, as there seemed no other outcome. So even before I was officially diagnosed on March 8, we both more or less knew where we were heading for. It was like purgatory.
My biggest fear was telling my children, and even recalling that now makes me very emotional. But they’ve all stepped up to it and faced this head on, helping out in every way they can even though they each were no doubt frightened in their own way.
What is your advice to others who daily find themselves or their loved ones being given similar news?
Have faith in the doctors and nurses, knowing they will look after you so well. Allow yourself to cry when you need to and lean on friends and family or the many support groups in our community who provide essential information and support. Our own body will react in its own way so there’s no point comparing or guessing your own outcome. Also avoid Googling - find a reliable information source such as a charity or online support group.
Most of all, you’ll be surprised at how something like this allows you to see the goodness and kindness that exists in a modern world that can be so dark and scary. The prayers, well wishes, acts of kindness and words of wisdom that will come your way will keep you afloat.
My motto has become “just keep swimming”. You’ll be surprised what you can get through when you really have to.
You are coming to the end of your chemo cycles. What is the next stage?
After my sixth cycle which will see me through most of September, I will be called firstly to ‘harvest’ my own stem cells in preparation for the transplant. Because my blood paraprotein levels are now in pretty good shape thanks to the six months of chemo, the stem cells are taken out in a day procedure and stored – with the aim to collect at least two million stem cells.
I will be admitted to Belfast City Hospital where I’ll be given a dose of a very heavy chemotherapy called Melphalan which more or less kills everything in its path, and the following day my good stem cells will be given back to me with the hope that they will settle back into my system and give me the best chance of remission.
I will be in hospital for approximately three to five weeks, I will lose my hair and I’ll have zero immunity so a lot of that time will be spent in isolation with a lot of sickness and weakness, plus a high risk of infection.
The aim afterwards is to delay the myeloma returning for as long as possible with some maintenance drugs, but unfortunately it will come back as it’s an incurable disease.
Some people get years in between relapses, some get months and some aren’t so lucky at all. I know that I’m considered young to have multiple myeloma and I don’t have any other health issues, so hopefully this will stand by me in the long term.
You seem to have a positive outlook for the future – is that difficult?
Even though I’m almost six months in, I still sometimes feel like I’m talking about someone else’s life and not my own. Maybe that’s my brain’s way of protecting me from reality. At the end of the day I can’t deny that having incurable cancer is scary.
I do have days when I feel angry or upset that this has come my way, and I think it’s important to allow myself to cry it out when I need to. There’s also an element of grief involved in that the life I thought I had ahead doesn’t exist anymore, nor does the life I had prior to this year. But if I dwell on that, I’ll go down and I don’t want to go down.
I look at my family and I know I have to keep going. On the brighter side, I now cherish every day and every person in my life all the more. I’ve lots more living to do, I’ve lots more stories to tell, I’ve lots more places to go and people to meet. I know the length of time I have is not in my hands, but I hope I’m nowhere near finished just yet.
Your new novel Maybe Next Christmas is out now on ebook. Tell us about it
Maybe Next Christmas is the story of Bea and Ollie, two Irish people who are making their way home from London on Christmas Eve from Heathrow Airport. Bea is planning to break up with her long term boyfriend while Ollie is going to spend what he knows will be his last Christmas with his father.
They’ve never met before , but a flight delay and a shared table in an overcrowded airport bar means they end up chatting. By the time they land in City of Derry airport, they know something has changed inside. But will they ever meet again?
What’s your inspiration behind Maybe Next Christmas and the characters of Bea and Ollie?
My inspiration came from the airport setting firstly and the thought of so many people rushing to get ‘home’ for Christmas. Who are they going home to? Will it be a happy Christmas or a sad one for them? I adored creating these characters, especially delving into the London world they inhabit with Ollie as a nurse on a cardiac ward, and Bea on the frontline of a very plush Kensington hotel.
Have you had any memorable airport/in-flight encounters with strangers like Bea and Ollie?
A few. I had a very interesting chat with a man who lived in Budapest while I was waiting for a flight out of Luton airport. I was intrigued about Budapest as one of my books had been recently published in Hungary. The man said he would buy it for his wife and daughter.
More recently, I was seated beside a lady, who within minutes she asked if my name was Emma Heatherington, then reached for her Kindle and was able to show me that she had just finished reading one of my books moments before I’d sat beside her.
Was the hotel Bea worked in based on a hotel you have stayed in?
When I was creating Bea’s character, I contacted The Red Carnation group to see if I could base one of their London hotels in my story. Along with my cousin Maria, who lives in Hampshire, I was absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to stay in their flagship five-star The Milestone, which overlooks Kensington Gardens.
We stayed in the Kensington Suite and our stay was exquisite from start to finish. In a true twist of fate, I learned that the lady who owns the Red Carnation group is called Bea, just like my leading lady. That was quite a ‘wow’ moment. One of my bucket list wishes is that when I get better I can go there to stay again.
At the end of the day I can’t deny that having incurable cancer is scary.
— Emma Hetherington
Do the other settings in the book combine your two loves of Donegal and Co Tyrone?
I chose Benburb as Bea’s home place because of its characteristics and personality, especially the river and the grounds of the Priory. The character of Ollie comes from south Donegal close to the majestic Slieve League cliffs. Both of these locations gave me lots of depth.
Have you done a writer’s retreat at Benburb Priory?
I’ve never done a writer’s retreat there, however it’s an ideal location and something I’d love to do in future. Jim and I visited the Priory one day in early summer with our dog Lola and after a gorgeous walk along the river, we took some time out in the chapel where I was blessed with the relic of St Peregrine.
It was a very special moment, totally unplanned, and although it was very emotional, it certainly gave me some inner peace and strength to face up to all I have ahead with my illness.
Was writing/editing some scenes more poignant than others in the light of your diagnosis – such as Ollie’s father’s end of life goodbye letter?
I wrote the first draft of Maybe Next Christmas last year but it was quite a different version to the one I’ve ended up with, so shortly after Christmas and into 2024 I was facing quite a major rewrite which coincided with the months that led up to my diagnosis.
There are honestly parts of it now that I read back and think, gosh did I write that? I always pour my heart into my novels, but this one was perhaps more poignant considering what I was going through myself. I did shed a few tears – both from the story itself and also with joy that I’d managed to complete it while reeling in shock and going through chemotherapy.
Your 2023 book, This Christmas, did so well topping the UK ebook charts and reaching second place in the Irish Times paperback bestsellers chart. Did you feel more pressure this time around?
The reaction from readers was so positive, so it was quite a big task to find that magic again when it came to location and setting. I think I got there in the end though as early reviewers are saying they may like Maybe Next Christmas even more... And everyone wants to visit Oyster Cottage where Ollie grew up in Donegal. I have to say I’d love to go there myself, if only it existed...
Is it important to you to use your profile as a platform for raising awareness about multiple myeloma?
I hope that by talking about my own condition that I can help others going through it as cancer of any type can make for a very lonely headspace both for the patient and their family members, as well as raise awareness of the illness itself as the symptoms can be quite vague.
Your family have fundraised for Myeloma UK. Has the charity been of help to you?
I was advised from the very beginning not to rely on Google for information as some of it is quite scary and outdated, but instead to go to Myeloma UK whose website is packed with information to help patients at every stage of their cancer journey.
I also have been very well informed by another website called Blood Cancer UK. Both of these charities have been a lifeline to me in that I was given the most up to date information and also real people to talk to so that I felt less alone.
Do you plan to continue writing when possible?
Hopefully I will have the strength to keep writing even at a slower pace than what I’m used to. I have another book in the pipeline for publication next October, though I don’t underestimate what I have ahead of me for the rest of this year.
Will you let reality and fiction combine and write about someone going through cancer treatment?
I’ve touched upon cancer treatment in many of my novels, but what I would like to do eventually is to write a non-fiction book that might help other people going through what I am going through now. I don’t know what shape or form that will take, but it’s something I’m letting stew for now and I’ll see what I can come up with.
You include a lot of raw emotion in your fiction, does writing help you through your journey?
I do believe in the power of writing stuff down and have facilitated workshops on journaling, so yes, I practice what I preach. All of the raw emotion in my novels comes right from the heart and mostly from lived experience.
At this stage you are living day to day but have you let your thoughts think ahead to your wishes for this or next Christmas?
My biggest wish this year is that I will be on the other side of the stem cell transplant in time for Santa coming. Sonny is going to be 10 in October, so I really want to be feeling better by Christmas so that I don’t miss out on any of the magic. Even my four older children, who are all young adults, gather to see their little brother’s face on Christmas morning. Please God I be able to join in with them this year and for many more to come.
