Janette (44) worked at various jobs, including hairdressing and printing, before starting her own business in catering and hygiene. She sold it when she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2001. Janette went to the High Court, when she couldn't get her cancer treatment because of a shortage of beds. Now thankfully in remission, she is the spokesperson for Patients Together, a nonpolitical group of patients and their families which seeks to highlight the current situation in A&E departments around the country. See www. patientstogether. com.

Janette lives in north Dublin with her partner Declan, and son Graham (25), and she has just finished writing a book about her experiences.

Gerard on Janette Janette and I were very close as children.

We were the last two left living at home out of six children, and we got on really well together, and became great friends. Janette used to hang around with me and my friends at times as we got older, and a few of them fancied her, but I warned them off!

When Janette's cancer was diagnosed, it felt like my whole world was collapsing around me. It hurt even more because she was a friend as well as a sister, so it was a double whammy. The awful thing is how hopeless you feel at a time like that . . . you can offer your support but you can't really do anything to help. I always found it remarkable how amazingly strong Janette was when she was vulnerable, and how hard she fought. There were some occasions when we were told that she might not make it, which was very difficult. When she wasn't getting the treatment she deserved, I found it very hard to deal with. When something crops up like that, it tests you, and Janette was so courageous. She has become a more calm person since she had the illness, compared to when she was younger.

Patients Together was set up by our family, and another family, the Mulreanys, because we were so upset by the treatment our relatives were receiving in A and E. We protested outside the hospital with our friends and family, and I remember the first time the television cameras came, and we were all pushed forward to speak. When I watched it back later, it was quite obvious that Janette was a natural spokeswoman, because she was so good at it. I admire her so much, because while the rest of the family do as much as we can for Patients Together, Janette is pretty much involved with it 24/7 and she gives it so much of her time and energy. She's very humble about what she does too. I had to step back a little because I was getting so angry about the way people were being treated in our hospitals that it was affecting my own health . . . I was getting pains in my chest over it.

Janette has an amazing drive and energy.

I think she'd be brilliant in politics, because she's very much out there in the community and is very caring. She's always writing letters to get things sorted for other people.

Janette on Gerard Gerard and I had a strict, but loving, family upbringing, and were all taught to have respect for one another. I have memories of us all mucking around in the garden, and Gerard digging tunnels and holes and making camps . . . he was always really hands on. As we got older he was a typical teenage boy getting into trouble, but never for anything serious. I remember occasions when he was supposed to babysit us, and he'd go off with his friends and warn us not to dare tell our parents or he'd kill us!

Gerard painted as a teenager, but we didn't really appreciate his talent back then.

It was more of an irritation at times really, because we didn't have much space, and I can remember giving out because paint accidentally got on my clothes. Gerard was always off travelling the world, and we'd regularly answer the door and there would be someone foreign standing there looking for a bed, because Gerard had told them to call in. Mammy always took them in, because she believed that if she took care of other people's children, Gerard would be looked after if he ever needed a bed.

When Gerard eventually decided to become a painter, it was lovely to see him living the dream, even though money was tight in the beginning and he'd be coming back to Mammy for dinner and buying his clothes in second-hand shops. Even though we always thought he was brilliant, we never dreamed that he would go on to become such a successful painter. There wasn't a lot of money around when we were growing up, and Gerard didn't go to art college, and didn't have things handed to him on a plate. He has worked really hard, and we're all so delighted for him. Going to the exhibitions was a huge thing for our family, and you could see how thrilled and proud Mam and Dad were. I think it's brilliant to be able to do something you love so much for a living.

When I got sick, every single one of my family loved and supported me 110%, from my partner and son to my parents and brothers and sisters. Gerard was brilliant and he did everything to make things comfortable for me. When I couldn't get a bed for my treatment, I know that if he could have got me to a plane and sent me for treatment anywhere in the world, he would have done it. He's always been a fantastic brother to me and I can always depend on him.