Tipperary man says thanks for lifesaving treatment received in Sweden

Tipperary Town man, 77-year-old Tom O’Donoghue, recently extended a formal “thank you” to HSE staff members for helping him and his fellow cancer patients to access lifesaving treatment abroad.

In 2007, Tom was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer – neuroendocrine tumours (NETs).

On several occasions, with the support of the HSE’s Treatment Abroad unit, based in Kilkenny, he travelled to Uppsala in Sweden to access care that is not available in Ireland.

According to Tom, the PRRT procedure, involving infusions of a radioactive isotope, has kept him and dozens of fellow Irish patients alive.

Later this year a Centre of Excellence, based at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, will begin providing the treatment.

The long-term plan is to offer the service to all Irish patients who require it. However, in the short to medium term, some Irish patients will continue to travel to Sweden and other countries for the procedure.

Recently the support group for NETs patients and their families presented a plaque to the Kilkenny-based Treatment Abroad Unit in recognition of their work.

The organisation’s chairman, Mark McDonnell, said “we want to formally acknowledge the professional and empathetic way our members are treated in their dealings with HSE staff”.

Tom O’Donoghue acknowledged that the positive nature of his own dealings with the HSE’s Kilkenny staff helped him in his battle with the disease.

He said: “I went to Uppsala in Sweden, several times, for treatment. Always, the attitude from the Kilkenny staff was to help me, not hinder me.

“Thankfully, the team at St Vincent’s in Dublin are now able to provide the care and monitoring that I need. But it is comforting to know that if I need treatment abroad in the future, I will be able to access it”.

Tom is a former English teacher at Abbey CBS and a former GAA coach. He lives in Tipperary Town with his wife Maria. For several years he has served as a committee member of the support group for NETs patients and their families – the NET Patient Network.

“It is one small way of giving something back for the lucky breaks that I have received on my own journey,” he says.

The HSE Unit, based at Callan Road, Kilkenny, is the national centre dealing with applications for assistance with treatment abroad, including the E112 and Cross Border Directive Schemes.