Official figures show that Fermanagh has one of the highest incidence of cancer in the south west.

In Fermanagh, 1,995 people have been diagnosed with cancer between 2004 and 2012. In Omagh the diagnosis rate was 1,548 while in Strabane it was 1,208 in the same period. More men (1,065) than women (930) were diagnosed in this period in the county.

Looking at incidence across Fermanagh, cancer incidence varies between electoral wards. Between 2008 and 2012, the incidence in Ballinamallard was 107 people, compared to 56 in Lisnaskea, 50 in Lisnarick, 52 in Newtownbutler, 90 in Castlecoole and 69 in Devenish.  Read moving, straight-talking interviews with cancer sufferers and survivors as they break down the taboo with their incredible stories of struggle and survival.

“I COULD feel this wee shiver go through me, you know, when they said I had cancer. But I said I was going to fight it - there was no point doing anything else.” Uel Emerson, from Trillick, knows better than most about how cancer can change lives forever having watched the illness take his sister.

“She died of ovarian cancer… I never thought I’d get cancer too,” said the 57 year old former mechanic, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012.

Prior to his diagnosis, Mr. Emerson was transferred to the Altnagelvin Hospital because he was finding it difficult to swallow and placed on a drip while various tests were carried out to determine what was wrong. Fortunately he wasn’t on his own as his partner Fiona Mills was by his side.

“Three consultants put him on a drip and did various scans, but they couldn’t find what was wrong with him. I told them that because his sister had died from ovarian cancer the year before alarm bells were ringing They said; ‘Oh, no, don’t be thinking like that’. The three consultants put it down to a virus and Uel was sent home - the doctor had prescribed him tablets,” explained Ms. Mills.

And she was right - her partner did have cancer just like she had suggested to doctors.

“You imagine what it was like for me an ordinary person on the street trying to tell the consultant what was wrong,” she said.

“Before I was told what I had I was feeling 100 per cent,” said Mr. Emerson, “I was just hoarse, I couldn’t swallow right. I didn’t know anything about lung cancer until I had it. It’s only when it comes to your door do you realise how serious the whole thing is,” he said.

Mr. Emerson recalled the “shiver” that went through him when he was told he had lung cancer.

“We walked down the corridor and didn’t speak. We drove home from the hospital in Omagh and didn’t say a big pile in the car either, you know. I knew what I was going to do - I was going to fight it. Before we got home I stopped at Homebase to get paint - I did. What can you do? You have to get on with it. There is no point having any other attitude or thinking about it too much,” he said.

Shortly after the diagnosis Mr. Emerson began treatment, changed his diet and was in and out of hospital frequently, fighting the illness head on just as he had pledged to do.

“If you thought about it you would go mad, it would put you mad. We were in an out of that hospital and saw other people going through the same thing. We met people with brain cancer, lung cancer, people who didn’t smoke. We met a family who didn’t know if they would get their 19 year old son home for Christmas; he was an athletic who ate healthy foods and he was that healthy that his body rejected the chemotherapy. That’s the type of illnesses people are dealing with. There are eight people along our road alone in Trillick, in a wee circle, all with cancer”.

The travelling to and from the hospital in Belfast was an exhausting experience for the couple and they believe such services should be made available in Fermanagh.

“There’s an old hospital in Enniskillen that could be good for cancer patients - the old Erne site. It could make a good cancer centre overlooking the water. We need one in this part of the world; cancer affects all ages and it’s very difficult for older people to travel,” said Ms. Mills.

Now after several bouts of treatment, Mr. Emerson’s cancer is dormant. And although it could return, it won’t take him down.

“I wouldn’t be worried about it returning at all,” said the defiant Trillick man, “if it comes it comes. I would fight it again and again.”