Daffodil Diaries - Tim Egan

“It was really hard to believe that my little cough that wouldn’t go away was lung cancer.”

In October 2019, Tim Egan, then aged 66, began to experience a persistent cough. “I was away with my wife. We were down in Dingle for the weekend, and I had a sore throat and a cough.

The sore throat cleared but I couldn’t shake the cough. It just wouldn’t go away. My wife Geraldine was pushing me and said ‘you need to get that checked out’. So over Christmas 2019, it was the 27^th of December, I went to see my GP and he referred me on for further tests. One by one I had the tests, a chest x-ray, a bronchoscopy and then a CT-scan. By the March, I was referred to a lung a specialist and that was kind of the first time I began to worry something more serious was wrong.”

“This was the very early stages of Covid-19 and we were very careful. I got referred to the Beacon on the 24^th of March for a PET scan and then in May they done more bloods. They knew there was something in my lung but they couldn’t find it. Then on the 2^nd of June, they done a lung biopsy and I was told they had found the 2cm tumour. It was really hard to believe that my little cough that wouldn’t go away was lung cancer.”

“Looking back, I was just so lucky. I am so grateful that my wife pushed me when she did to go and get myself checked out."

“I was told there and then I needed surgery, and even though they were concerned due to my age, because I was healthy and active, they wanted to proceed with the surgery. At that time, if you remember during Covid, the state had taken over private hospital capacity, so I was sent to the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin on the 10^th of June for my surgery. I was kept in for a period of recovery and then discharged on the 18^th of June. Having gone through so many tests over many months, it all happened so quickly then once they got to the bottom of what was wrong with me. I can’t thank the medical teams enough who looked after me, even now, they are still brilliant, and I know they’re there at the end of the phone if I need them.”

Tim’s diagnosis came as huge shock to him and his family. He and Geraldine have two children and five grandchildren. “Looking back, I was just so lucky. I am so grateful that my wife pushed me when she did to go and get myself checked out. The doctor told me if I didn’t have my surgery, I would be dead within months. After the surgery then, you are hoping and wondering if they got everything they needed to and after further tests, they were happy and they said I needed no more treatment. Post-surgery, it was difficult for me to recover. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I needed to learn to walk again, but it was pretty close to that. I couldn’t even dress myself in the mornings. My family and everybody around me were so helpful during that period.”

“My brothers, my parents, my girlfriend, a couple of really close friends and then the lads from Trim GAA, they all played a role in getting through that period and I’m so grateful to have had that support network around me. I suppose that’s why I wanted to fundraise and help others because I had that support network, and I thought of the person who maybe didn’t have it. That’s why the services of organisations like the Irish Cancer Society are so important to be able to step in and be there for that person. In my ward in the Mater, there were people around me who unfortunately passed away and I think that really gave me a different point of view. I was on the mend, and yes, it was really difficult for me, but there were people and families in worse positions and that perspective really helped me get through it and gave me focus and something to aim for with my fundraiser.”

“I think we need to be aware that anybody can get lung cancer. I did smoke, but I hadn’t smoked in nearly 30 years. I was healthy, I was active and yet, this little cough I had, that was lung cancer."

Tim is sharing his story and asking people to take action if they notice any signs or symptoms of lung cancer. “I think we need to be aware that anybody can get lung cancer. I did smoke, but I hadn’t smoked in nearly 30 years. I was healthy, I was active and yet, this little cough I had, that was lung cancer. I would really encourage people to be on the look out for the signs and symptoms and speak to your doctor as soon as you can. I have my wife to thank for pushing me, but we shouldn’t need to be pushed, especially men. We should just do it ourselves. I am concerned however, that GPs increasingly aren’t seeing their patients over the age of 70. Everything is done over the phone and I think for those who are a bit older, you must insist on going in to see your doctor if you feel something isn’t right.”

Reflecting on his cancer experience, Tim says he feels fortunate to be alive. “I have lost a brother and two sisters to cancer, my father died of cancer and now I have survived cancer. Out of five of us siblings, only one of us hasn’t had cancer yet, and I say yet, because we joke with her that she must be next! I think it is amazing these days how you can survive cancer now and lung cancer in particular. I had my surgery and now I go for my check ups, and that’s it. All because we caught it early. I feel very lucky to still be here and want people to know there is life after cancer.”