IMAGE The Check-in

What happens when the treatment that saves your life changes your body forever?

In this episode of IMAGE The Check-in, Leonie Corcoran is joined by Nikki Bradley, disability advocate, adventurer and founder of Fighting Fit for Ewing's. At 16, Nikki was a schoolgirl in Donegal studying for exams. Then one appointment brought a diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer. It was the last day she wore her school uniform.

The treatment worked. But what she didn’t know then was that the radiotherapy she was given as a precaution had quietly damaged a bone in her hip. What followed was two decades of failed hip replacements, infections, a rotationplasty and, this year, an amputation. With trademark dark humour, Nikki calls it “the most recycled leg in the history of legs”.

Some of what treatment took from Nikki can’t be seen. The chemotherapy that saved her life also brought on menopause before she’d left her teens. It meant she would not be able to have children, a loss she has carried since she was a young woman. She talks about this and about what young women facing treatment deserve to asked, with the honesty and personal expertise.
She is also clear about what has carried her through: therapy, a mindset she can come back to and . . . mountains.
In this episode, we discuss:
Late effects: How cancer treatment can cause new health problems years later.

Early menopause and fertility: Facing HRT, hot flushes and the loss of fertility as a teenager and why HRT that worked for 20 years can stop working.

The invisible load: The planning, risk-assessing and exhaustion of everyday life with a disability.

Being seen: Why looking away from someone with a visible difference hurts more than curiosity.

Taking back control: Why Nikki chose therapy over leaning on loved ones and how she turned pain into scaling mountains from Ireland's peaks to, one day, Kilimanjaro. 

Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of childhood cancer, surgery and amputation, medical trauma, early menopause and infertility. Please watch or listen only when you feel ready to do so.

Listen now and stay to the end for the one small thing Nikki asks of every one of us. It’s actionable, kind and will make more of a difference to the people around you than you think.

IMAGE The Check-in is part of IMAGE Women’s Health Clinic and is empowered by Boots and in partnership with Samsung.

This week on IMAGE The Check-in, Dominique is joined by broadcaster and presenter Katja Mia for an honest conversation about women's health, body image and the exhausting fight to be heard.
From experiencing debilitating period pain as a teenager to eventually being diagnosed with endometriosis and Hashimoto's disease, Katja opens up about years of searching for answers, learning to advocate for herself and navigating a complicated relationship with her body.
She also speaks candidly about her experience of using GLP-1 medication, the judgement surrounding women's weight and the surprising ways her relationship with food and her body has changed.Ahead of her documentary, Katja reflects on the wider issues facing women's healthcare, from medical gaslighting and delayed diagnoses to why so many women are still struggling to have their symptoms taken seriously.

Please note: this episode includes discussion of body image and weight loss.
Please listen with care, and at a time that feels right for you.If Katja's story resonates with you, whether you're struggling with painful periods, suspect you may have endometriosis or a thyroid condition such as Hashimoto's, or are finding your relationship with food and body image difficult, please know that support is available.
Your GP is a good first port of call and can help you explore your symptoms and access specialist care where needed. You can also find information and support through organisations such as the Endometriosis Association of Ireland, the British Thyroid Foundation and Bodywhys, Ireland's eating disorders association.

IMAGE The Check-in is part of IMAGE Women's Health Clinic and is proudly empowered by Boots and in partnership with Samsung. Hosted by Dominique McMullan. Recorded in Living Room Dublin.

For nine years, Catriona Kinnevey had an explanation for everything. The tremor in her left hand was the gym. The stiff shoulder was too many weights. The shake was anxiety, PMS, maybe an essential tremor. At 39, she finally heard the words: "I see Parkinson's."In this episode of IMAGE The Check-in, Leonie Corcoran is joined by Catriona, a mum of two, a marketer, a board member of Parkinson's Ireland and the voice behind @parkinsonsgirly, for a raw, warm and often funny conversation about living with young onset Parkinson's.Catriona shares how she hid her symptoms for years while building a career, becoming a mother and living her life. She talks about being told again and again that she was "just stressed", the heartbreak of IVF, a late-night phone call from her brother that changed everything and the kind neurologist who told her to "park the Parkinson's" and have her second baby.Please note: this episode includes discussion of IVF, fertility struggles and an early pregnancy loss. Please listen with care, and at a time that feels right for you.IMAGE The Check-in is part of IMAGE Women's Health Clinic and is proudly empowered by Boots and in partnership with Samsung.
Hosted by Leonie Corcoran. Recorded in Living Room Dublin.

In 1961, Finola Cassidy's mother was prescribed a new "wonder drug" for morning sickness. It contained thalidomide, which caused miscarriages and severe birth defects in babies around the world.
Weeks after Finola was born, it was withdrawn worldwide. In Ireland, no public warning was issued and the drug remained on shelves for years.
Sixty-five years on, in a moving conversation, Finola talks to Leonie Corcoran about growing up with a disability in 1960s Ireland, the 27 hospital stays of her childhood, the silent burden carried by the mothers who took thalidomide and the lesson in resilience her father gave her.
As spokesperson for the Irish Thalidomide Association, she also shares why Ireland's survivors are still waiting for a State apology and what she told a young mother she met by chance on a boat.
**This episode includes discussion of miscarriage and baby loss.

IMAGE The Check-in is empowered by Boots and in partnership with Samsung.

Hosted by Leonie Corcoran. Recorded in Living Room Dublin.

Longevity is much more than a trend - it is about optimising your health at every stage of life.

Recorded live at the recent IMAGE Women's Health Clinic event, this special episode features consultant dermatologist Professor Caitriona Ryan as she breaks down the exact science, nutrition, data tech, and daily lifestyle habits needed to live your best life at every age.

Key Takeaways:
Nurture vs. Nature: How genetics interact directly with your lifestyle habits.
Wearable Tech: Using health data to our advantage
Nutritional Optimisation: The key nutrients for evergreen health
Medical Evolution: The place for modern science in healthy aging.
Actionable Solutions: Best health protocols for every age

Professor Caitriona Ryan is a consultant dermatologist, co-founder of The Institute of Dermatologists, and co-founder of the soon-to-launch ID Formulas supplement range.

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IMAGE The Check-in is part of the IMAGE Women’s Health Clinic; proudly empowered by Boots and sponsored by Samsung and Waterstone Clinic.