Ciara Magian: ‘You build your own hope, I won’t let cancer win’

“I think in life you create your own hope. I will not let this cancer win.”

Ciara Mageean has always been a fighter.

Her athletics career was the epitome of resilience, fighting the odds and never giving up.

Now, in a battle that goes off the rails, those same qualities are shining through.

Mazin was diagnosed with stage four bile cancer in May 2025 and has now undergone 18 rounds of chemotherapy.

It won’t come as a surprise to those who know him that the 34-year-old won’t let this fight define him – even if he knows it could end up being a fight he won’t win.

For the two-time Olympian, he’s trying to find happiness in the little things in life.

He still has hope, though he admits “there are definitely moments where it’s a lot harder to shine through”.

“Throughout this journey, there have been things that have been so crushing, and the news is so hard that you might have two to three years to live,” Magian told BBC Sport NI.

“It’s something that’s absolutely devastating in your life, and I hold out hope that I can be part of the 10% to 15% that survive more than five years.”

Mazin hopes there is ongoing research that could change his prognosis, and he is determined to enjoy his life because “none of us are guaranteed tomorrow”.

“Obviously, I’ve been given a diagnosis that’s very difficult but there are people who go out today and they won’t come back to their door.

“That’s the hope and the joy for me, that I can survive this and that I can live to my old age.

“I think we all need it no matter what, we have to keep hope because if not, it’s already won.”