Ciara Mageean’s Cancer Diagnosis

Irish middle-distance runner and European champion Ciara Mageean recently revealed that she has been diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer. This came ahead of the publication of her memoir, My Greatest Race, which is set to be released on June 18. Her memoir, written with Clíona Foley, details her athletic career and personal life, from her gold medal at the European Championships in Rome in 2024 to her cancer diagnosis.

Mageean first announced her cancer diagnosis in an emotional post on Instagram in July 2025, sharing that while the diagnosis has "been a lot to take in", she is "ready to face this with the same fight I've always brought to the track". She added that she had “already started treatment” and “kindly ask[ed] that you respect my privacy and that of my loved ones as we move through this together”.

In June 2026, Mageean spoke up about her diagnosis, revealing that she had actually been diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer. Her diagnosis came in May 2025, and she has undergone 18 rounds of chemotherapy since then.

Prior to her diagnosis, Mageean noticed that she started to feel the need to use the toilet more frequently. “I would get up in the morning and need the toilet four times, and I’d say ‘that’s not normal’,” she recalled. While she initially brushed it off and “kept finding logical reasons for it”, she eventually decided to get it checked out after her partner, Tommy, encouraged her to do so.

“I’ll never forget that day, going in to have what I thought would just be a routine little scope, but instead on that very day I found out that I had cancer,” she recalled. “I was so shocked that it was probably an unusual reaction. Most people would expect you to cry, but I was like, ‘gosh, right’.”

After undergoing further tests, she found out that her cancer had metastasized to her liver and lungs. The news left her emotional and in shock for a few days. She shared, “I can fight this, but it is a strange mix of determination to be ‘I’m not going to let this cancer win’, but just the sheer dread and feeling that the Grim Reaper is right behind me.”

Mageean shared that she had undergone 18 rounds of chemotherapy since being diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, her treatment affected the sensation in her hands and toes.

"I just completed my 18th round of chemo at the end of May. 18 really tough rounds. I have the side-effects on my hands. People are often surprised at how fit and healthy I look because I've gone through so much chemo,” she shared.

Despite this, Mageean shared that she is “feeling fit and healthy” and she is “hopeful that my prognosis can be good”.

Despite being diagnosed with cancer, Mageean recently appeared in an episode of Uncharted with Ray Goggins, where she trekked across the wilds of Costa Rica with Michael Dara Macaualey ‘after 12 rounds of chemo’. The two-time Olympian shared that she was determined not “to let this cancer win”.

“I walked out of that hospital appointment on 24 December, and I said, I’m going to Costa Rica, and I’m having fun because if I’m going to die I’m going to fit as much living into the years that I have left,” she commented.

Reflecting on her cancer journey thus far, Mageean shared that while she still has hope, "there are certainly moments where it's a lot harder for it to shine through".

"Throughout this journey, there's been things that have been so crushing, and the news is so tough to be told that you might have two to three years left to live,” she shared. “Obviously, I've been given a diagnosis that's very tough but there are people that go out today, and they won't come back in their door. That's hope and joy for me, that I can survive this and I can live into my old age. I think we all need that no matter what, we need to keep hope because if not, then it's won already."

Mageean also added that rather than feeling fearful about the future, she feels “complete sadness”.

“We were planning our lives ahead, we’ll start a family, and I’ll have kids, and then I’ll have grandkids, and I’ll get to be a granny, I’ll get to watch Tommy grow old, and I’ll have so many celebrations with my friends and families throughout the years. I get emotional thinking that I don’t really have the luxury of thinking that anymore, and it might be a reality if this treatment works, and I’m hopeful that I get to live into my old age, but the odds are stacked against me,” she reflected. “I mourn the loss of things that I never had. I mourn the loss of being able to retire from my sport and having that farewell race. I mourn the loss of a family that I always really wanted.”

Mageean also hopes that by sharing her diagnosis, people can “resonate with some of the things I went through, and some of the lessons that I learned”.

“I want to raise awareness to listen to your body, but also to show people there’s no guarantees in life, somebody can be perfectly healthy and go out tomorrow and a catastrophe could happen. So live every day for the joy that you have. We need to feel happy, because I feel like the hourglass is so much more obvious to me now,” she reflected.

She added that she is thankful for the support given to her by the Irish people, saying “I am so grateful for the support of the Irish nation that’s been there for me throughout my entire career. Honestly, I feel so supported and loved throughout this journey, and I can’t thank everybody enough for all of that.”