Outpouring of support as Westmeath woman behind Inglot brand prepares for New York cancer treatment
Family, friends, faith and community are the solid foundations that Jane Swarbrigg braces herself on as she undergoes treatment for stage four colon cancer.
The woman responsible for bringing the Inglot cosmetics brand to Ireland was diagnosed with the disease in April 2026, after it had spread to her liver and lungs. She is now preparing to travel to the United States later this month in the hope of accessing specialised treatment.
The mother of Georgia, aged two, and Jackson, aged six, is preparing for a major operation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSK) in New York on September 23.
Jane is currently receiving chemotherapy at St James’s Hospital in Dublin, and has been accepted as a candidate for a Hepatic Arterial Infusion (HAI) Pump, a specialised treatment which delivers chemotherapy directly to the liver.
The treatment is not currently available in Ireland and will involve a complex operation, followed by regular trips to New York for further chemotherapy and specialist care. The initial surgery alone is expected to cost more than €200,000, and there are significant additional expenses for ongoing treatment, travel and accommodation.
“I sound pretty groggy, but I’ve actually got a lovely cup of coffee here, there’s not a bother on me,” she said, speaking from her family home in Mullingar. Jane has been dealing with a seasonal bug, but given her diagnosis, it has a little more import than for most people.
The return of children to school make such infections part and parcel of life: “Jackson started back. Georgia is in crèche, and Jackson’s up in the Holy Family school. I’m sure he’s the happiest kid in the world, he’s skipping in to school every day.
“I know I’m particularly susceptible, but you know something? You can’t not hold your kids when they’re not well. I roll with the punches, as they say.”
That attitude dominates Jane’s conversation. Even when acknowledging the tough road ahead, the accent is always on the positive: “I’ve had quite an emotional week, I’m not going to lie,” she says. “We’ve had four months to deal with the diagnosis. In general, I’m in a really good place health-wise and mentally.
“I’m very prepared for my trip. I’m just seeing all the good around me and looking at all these opportunities. It’s like a blessing, I’m focused on what’s ahead of me. But in a positive way.”
The consensus is that such a positive mental perspective is a vital component of any recovery programme: “Absolutely. I can decompartmentalise, I believe that’s the word. I had a flu last week, the week before that I was going through some side effects from chemo. Before that I was in hospital. It gives me perspective when I come out of those down days, to just make the most of the good days.
“I spent three weeks in hospital in June. When I got out, it was July and the kids were off school. I felt so well, it was like when you’ve got over a head cold and you start to come back to life again. I really enjoyed July and the good weather.
“It gives you perspective to make the most of the good days. I’ve been quite lucky with managing my side effects really well,” she says.
Since her April diagnosis, Jane has become familiar with the medical system, and appreciates her time out of it: “I have a brilliant oncology team who have helped me no end to just stay on top of things. I was able to spend so much of the summer with my kids, which is amazing. All I want to do is to be here for them.
“Obviously, the operation will take me to New York and over to MSK. That’s happening on September 23. So I’ll probably be gone for about three weeks for that. It’s a lot to think about leaving the kids for that long, but at the same time, there’s a bigger picture. It means I’m going to be around, please God, for many, many, many years to come and all those summers and all those Septembers.”
‘I have a goal in my head’
“That has to be how I look at things. I have to have a goal in my head. I’m looking at this like I have a new job. I just have to get this done. It’s a chapter of our lives that we’ve got amazing support. I know in my soul we’re going to get through this.”
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre is a world leader in cancer care. Five months ago the Mullingar mother was unaware of its existence: “I got diagnosed in Mullingar. My amazing auntie, Angela, was a nurse for 40 years in Cavan General. She had a friend, a doctor, and we asked for advice on who was the best person to go to for oncology. We looked at two different options.
“I ended up choosing St James’s up in Dublin and a doctor called Emily Harold that by some unbelievable chance had studied, trained and worked in MSK. She’s now a resident (consultant) in St James’s.
“She has a friend who is a doctor, Dr Louise Connell, over in the States. She oversees this oncology department that has this HAI pump. It’s a liver pump. They’re going to take my gallbladder out and insert this pump. It’s going to target-treat my liver. It has been going for years over there, years. It’s a really experienced team. I’ve met two surgeons and I’ve met Dr Connell as well. It’s taken this long to get through my chemo in Ireland, they wanted me to do it first.”
The opportunity for treatment was the first part of Jane’s journey: “Thank God I’m a candidate. They had to do a couple of tests to make sure I was anatomically suitable and my cancer was suitable for treatment. I guess they wanted to know I was fit and healthy enough and see how I reacted to the chemotherapy I got in Ireland.
“I have just come out of that fight. I literally just did a workout in the garden this morning with my best friend. So I am getting prepared for this as well. I know I need to be strong for it. Even the travel is going to take its toll on me. But to be handed this opportunity… you know? When you get a diagnosis as serious as mine, and particularly with two little kids at home, you are willing to do anything.
“I’m going to be fighting fit. I’m going to do absolutely everything to get over there and get this operation. And, please God, it’s going to help.”
Her support group has been crucial: “It’s becoming more and more evident every week and month that passes. I have an amazing husband, family, friends and even neighbours. I moved home from Dublin three years ago. I left my business and came home pretty much to have a second child and a different shot at life.
“Now I’m surrounded by all of my old friends and my family in an unbelievable neighbourhood and community of people who’ve been helping us all since I got diagnosed.”
That coming together has rippled out beyond Mullingar, beyond Westmeath and even beyond Ireland. In two days, an online fund established in Jane’s name had amassed more than €60,000, two days later it surpassed €100,000: “My friends banded together and insisted we set up this GoFundMe page. It’s overwhelming and emotional to know that there’s so many people supporting and rooting for us; strangers as well, people from the internet, followers from Instagram I’ve never met, all supporting us in this way.
“It’s been an emotional couple of days. I’m honestly shell shocked and so appreciative. I just couldn’t be more grateful and thankful and just feel so blessed.”
Aside from the donations, a large number of people have contacted Jane through social media about her situation: “I couldn’t get over the many people who reached out. First of all to sympathise or send support, but also so many people are affected by cancer and specifically colon cancer. Be it stories of people who needed help and are in that situation, or stories of people who have overcome it.
“I wasn’t expecting that either, but I’ve had amazing messages sent to me from people with great positive stories. On the flip side, there is an alarming amount of people going through the same experience as me at the moment.”
Jane has also been supported by agencies dedicated to cancer care: “I found Bowel Cancer Ireland’s website very good, and the HSE website. My husband, Brian, is originally from Dublin, but he’s moved down and he’s now part of the Loman’s community. He’s made so many friends and has got unbelievable support from people around us. I can’t get over how kind people are.
“Helping with the kids, taking them to school. When I went into the hospital in June, people were making dinners for them. I know it’s going to happen all over again when I go to America. There’s just so much good in the world.”
The mother of two believes that her beliefs provide strength at this difficult time: “My faith is so strong. I’ve always been a religious person. I really feel I’ve got this extraordinary strength that has come over me lately. I have been so calm. I can see the positive in everything.
“I can see the blessings and the miracles that are surrounding us. It’s bizarre even to myself. I should be curled up on a couch in the depths of despair, but I’m absolutely not. I’m out doing a workout with my friends in the garden, breathing in the fresh air and having the giggles and chats and, you know, spending as much time with my kids as I can.”
Another source of fortitude is her children: “They are the most crazy, happy lunatics you’ll ever come across. Being at home with them every day is brilliant. I know people are like, ‘it must be so hard’, but it’s actually the best distraction in the world.
“Coming home to a busy little house and lots of love, a house full of happiness and love. We always have a back garden full of kids and neighbours and things. I can’t sit around moping, that’s just not an option here.”