My return to chemotherapy hasn’t been as straightforward as I expected. It was to be every three weeks. I expected a challenging week, a better week and then a good week.

Paula Williams from Ear to the Ground on RTÉ 1, rang. The team wanted to visit and chat about celebrating the arrival of spring on farms and talk about how I was coping with it all.

Paula felt that I was helping people by being open about my cancer. Writing about it is therapeutic for me and probably the reason why, to date, I haven’t felt the need of counselling. You, my readers, are my counsellors.

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As I said yes, I thought of how this would go down with the family. There was muck everywhere from the recent incessant rain. We were extraordinarily busy – cows calving, a slurry tank had just been built, the aprons and safety walls were in full flow and a new baby was next door.

As chief calf rearer, my output was about 50% of what it was last year and now I wanted to bring cameras around. Can you imagine how that stress fell on my family’s loving shoulders? But the answer was yes. Colm and Tim would bear the brunt of the inconvenience. Yet, I knew I had their full support.

On hearing the news, my siblings’ eyes darted heavenward. I’m sure they thought “is Kay actually mad?” They’re used to me though and instead of scolding me, they asked how they could help.

I had the first round of the chemo. The aftermath was tough. It was as if my one-year older body went “hold on, I’m not tolerating this”.

My brother Phil picked me up from hospital around 4.30pm. He was down to do a few bits – sweep the front of the house, the passage in the calf shed, a bit of bedding

Every part of me reacted. My daily rhythms were gone, replaced with constipation, extreme fatigue, a sore mouth, in fact, sore everywhere – use your imagination. The blood tests told my lovely consultant Deirdre the story. “Your neutrophils are too low. Chemotherapy will have to be delayed a week.” That meant I’d be in hospital the two days before Ear to the Ground’s visit. Could I do it? I’d try.

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My brother Phil picked me up from hospital around 4.30pm. He was down to do a few bits – sweep the front of the house, the passage in the calf shed, a bit of bedding. You can imagine the list. Jack my nephew joined him. What love.

My sister Bernadine descended on the house while I was in hospital, blitzing my rooms.

“Kay, can I do the windows?” she asked. “They’re grand, Ben,” I replied. “No, she said, “I couldn’t have a camera pointing out through dirty windows.”

She landed with dinner for us, dessert for the TV crew, stewed apple for me and did her magic. Later, she asked, “which of them is kissing your windows, is it Peter or Katie? There were kisses all along a level.” I smiled inwardly at the idea of my grandchildren’s kisses while Ben scrubbed vigorously.

Saturday dawned. I pulled myself out of bed and headed over to the calf shed for a sneak preview. A heifer’s coat was hanging off. I bent over her to fix it. She pucked me in the upper arm, sending shock waves of pain flying and tears flowing.

I came back to the house defeated. Tim and Julie, alarmed, wrapped me in their arms. Julie said, “Mum, listen, breathe, you’re talking three times as fast because of the steroids. 1,2, 3 breathe.”

At the appointed time, all my family arrived. I know it is hard for them. Why wouldn’t I fight this cancer with all my might for them.

The RTÉ team – Ella, Paula, Michael and Stephen – left Woodside around 5pm for the drive back to Dublin. What an effort they put in. Thank you.

See Ear to the Ground RTÉ 1 at 7pm, Thursday 12 February.