As Gillian Hughes pops open a suitcase to reveal a selection of Gatsby-esque turbans, passers-by can’t help but stop to coo over the sequins and sinamay.That the collection was originally created for cancer patients doesn’t even occur to the admirers. But, in a way, that’s the point.

“For a person who is not going through cancer, they add glamour on the outside,” says Gillian, “but for a person who is going through cancer, they’re adding glamour in here as well.”

With an autumnal shawl draped over a burnt orange and purple dress, Gillian – ambassador for the recent Kells Pink Ribbon Walk – certainly cuts an elegant figure when she meets Irish Country Living at the Headfort Arms hotel.

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The self-taught milliner has seen several of her creations grace the “best-dressed” lists since first launching her business in 2004. However, since being diagnosed with breast cancer, both her business and life have taken a new direction – and in her opinion, for the better.

“It’s given me such a breath of fresh air in an awful lot of ways,” says Gillian. “I live life to its fullest.”

Cancer battle

Originally from Dunboyne (her father worked for Drummond Seeds in nearby Clonee), Gillian lives in Navan with her husband Conor, and children, Nicole, 13, and Christopher, 10. On paper, her cancer journey began in August 2012, but, in reality, it’s something she has always lived with, given a family history of the disease.

“I had my first mammogram at 15,” she explains, “so, in my case, I always assumed that I would have cancer eventually.”

Gillian checked herself religiously every morning. While she often found harmless lumps, she knew there was something different in late summer 2012.

“I’ve heard so many people say: ‘You know,’” she says simply. “You do know. You definitely know.”

But Gillian admits she did “what everybody tells you not to do” and delayed going to the GP. But, she explains, she had her reasons. Secretly, she had been battling depression for two years, while she was also concerned about her weight which had started to creep up when she broke her ankle shortly after having her son, and was exacerbated by the loss of her beloved mother to lung cancer.

While continuing to monitor the lump daily for any changes, she decided to overhaul her lifestyle, switching to a healthier diet and going to the gym daily – dropping from a size 16 to a 10 in six weeks.

“I wouldn’t have lasted six months otherwise,” reasons Gillian. “This was me preparing for the long journey ahead.”

When Gillian did seek medical advice that September, her predictions proved correct. As well as two cancerous lumps, she also had pre-cancerous cells throughout her right breast. A mastectomy was scheduled, followed by chemotherapy.

“It’s not good news, no matter what way you slice it,” says Gillian.

“You can say: ‘I’ve a positive attitude, it’s this, that and the other,’ but it’s crap, it’s really crap. Cancer is cancer

“But it’s not what you do when you’re falling down on the ground, it’s how you get back up.”

Cancer with glamour

Gillian had her right breast removed on 1 October 2012 and started the first of six rounds of chemo mid-November at the Mater hospital. It was after the second bout that her hair started to fall out.

“We went to a party on Friday night and everybody was complimenting me on how well I looked,” she recalls. “But by Saturday morning my hair had started to come out in chunks. By Monday it was basically gone.”

On the school run that morning, however, Gillian had a lightbulb moment. When she got home, she cut up an old grey cardigan to make a glamorous turban-style headpiece. Experimenting with different materials (including fleece and Penneys’ t-shirts) she soon had quite the collection in a range of colours, often accessorised Gillian-style with a bit of bling.

She laughs that it became a running-joke with the nurses about what she’d wear to chemo. But her style also caught the eye of her fellow patients.

“There was one day I was really sick,” she recalls. “I was in a corner and I was making a turban, but when I looked up and there were 12 people in a line, wanting to buy from me.

“But I was giving the feel-good factor to people. Those turbans, they look glamorous – but nothing compares to what they actually give.”

Suddenly, Gillian found herself with a whole new business. Soft and snug, everyday turbans range from €20-€40, with more elaborate pieces for racing or special occasions starting at €120 (in fact, many customers are not cancer patients at all, but find the turbans easy-to-wear, yet elegant.)

And Gillian will be donating 100 turbans at a special “Glamour with Cancer” fashion show she is organising on 17 October in Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim, in aid of children’s cancer charity, Aoibheann’s Pink Tie. This follows her role as spokesperson for the Kells Pink Ribbon Walk, in aid of Action Breast Cancer.

“It was a very emotional day,” says Gillian of the event, “you feel like you have friends and family around you, even if you don’t know them. It’s hard to describe the camaraderie.”

Gillian is still in treatment, receiving the targeted drug herceptin at three-week intervals until November. But while looking forward to life beyond cancer, she’s also thankful for where her battle has brought her.

“I feel like I’ve got a second chance at life. I’ve got a second chance at business and I’ve got a second chance to help people,” she surmises, as she packs up her turbans. “And that’s what I’m doing.”