Updated / Friday, 19 Jun 2026 12:40
The therapy uses breath work and pattern retraining to reduce stress (Stock image)
A woman who described her cancer diagnosis as "terrifying" has said she found peace around her treatment through a new therapy course.
Anne Cole said that when she found out she had stage 4 breast cancer at the age of 45, she was not kind to herself and had to learn how to co-exist with the diagnosis.
She took part in the COMFORT course, which is aimed at people who have received a recent diagnosis and who may be in distress, and finding it difficult to cope.
Ms Cole said she had a five-year-old daughter at the time of her diagnosis and said she had a lot of self-blame and "what if" questions.
She added that she was completely terrified about what might be ahead, as the diagnosis was quite unexpected.
"It's a very lonely time... you feel like there's no one else in the world going through what you’re going through.
"It was the most distressing time in my life."
Ms Cole said that she has never been physically sick from cancer or her treatment, but psychologically she knew that she needed help.
She said that having completed the programme, she now had the tools and skills to use as well as help and support.
Aim is to treat the patient as a whole person
The lead researcher of the COMFORT trial said that the trauma-informed framework has been making a difference to people.
Dr Sinéad Lynch, counselling psychologist, said that the aim of the treatment - compassion-focussed therapy and breathing pattern retraining - is to treat the patient as a whole person.
It was designed specifically to address the psychological strain associated with cancer recurrence.
The course is an acute service where patients can focus on what they need help and support with, while they may be undergoing other treatments like chemotherapy.
The therapy uses techniques such as breath work and pattern retraining to reduce stress.
Listen: Dr Sinéad Lynch and Ann Cole on Today with David McCullagh
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Dr Lynch said that often patients are overwhelmed and do not want to burden their family or friends with their emotions.
She said that it is hoped the research trial will now be taken to the next stage as it has received funding from Enterprise Ireland.
Dr Lynch is also exploring the potential to convert COMFORT into a psychological app, with support from NovaUCD, a start-up centre at UCD.
She said that there is hope in the future to create a pocket psychologist for patients to access on the go.
Read the full article at RTÉ News →
Ireland