I told my husband, "I HAVE GOOD NEWS ...AND BAD NEWS'

DERVLA McTiernan dismissed the throbbing headaches that had plagued her for months as a symptom of stress, until her husband urged her to go for tests.

- Jane Warren

"By this time they were so persistent I was really struggling by the end of each day," says Dervla today. "I had very young children and a job, so it seemed reasonable the headaches would be stress-related: I was expecting to be told to drink more water." Instead, after tests, her doctor grabbed a yellow Post-it note, and scribbled down three phone numbers.

"I've never forgotten that moment," recalls County Cork-born Dervla, 47, who emigrated to Australia 13 years ago. "The doctor told me, 'You need to call these three surgeons urgently. Whoever answers the phone first, you need to see immediately'."

She explained that Dervla had craniopharyngioma - a large, benign tumour in a malignant location. It was growing into her pituitary gland and hypothalamus, the area of the brain that produces hormones to regulate functions like heart rate, hunger, body temperature and mood.

"If it wasn't removed, I would lose my peripheral vision and then my sight, and, eventually, I would undergo complete pituitary gland failure and I would die," she recalls.

Numbed by the news, Dervla made her way to her car and, using her phone to research the three doctors, prepared to start calling. At that point, the device buzzed with an email alert.

Assuming it was connected to her diagnosis, she opened it. In fact, it contained a glimmer of hope amidst the blur of fear.

Several weeks earlier, she had sent a sample of her debut novel, The Ruin, to a literary agent. "This email was to say she loved the first 50 pages and could I send her the rest of the manuscript," says Dervla.

"It was the most surreal moment. Like the film The Truman Show when the producer decides Truman's life is too boring: 'Throw in some big stuff'. The timing was extraordinary."