'I am going to look at life differently'

A Mayo councillor has urged people not to ignore the warning signs after sharing his cancer battle experience.

Castlebar councillor Ger Deere has completed gruelling cancer treatment following his shock diagnosis.

Ger attended his local GP after he discovered a suspected lump on his neck. A series of tests all came back negative, but an experienced consultant insisted something was amiss and potentially saved Ger’s life.

“In mid-November I was shaving one day and noticed a bit of a lump on my neck. But I didn’t take much notice of it, it wasn’t bothering me. I said this will go away but my wife said you should get the doctor to have a look at that. 

"I’m not a great man for doctors and when it wasn’t bothering me, I didn’t want to go. Another four weeks passed and I had to get a tetanus injection and one of the girls at work said when you’re in there get the doctor have a look at that lump, it’s there a long time and I don’t like it,” Ger recalled.

Blood tests and a CT scan all came back clear, and Ger and his GP were hugely relieved.

“Just after Christmas I got a call from a consultant in Galway that my doctor had recommended me to, an ear, nose and throat specialist in the Bon Secours. I wondered what the point was in going to see him when the tests had all come back negative but I went anyway.

“He felt the lump and said, ‘We have a problem. That’s sinister. I think you could have cancer.’” 

Ger was stunned and further shocked when the consultant told him one of the cancers he suspected.

“He named out two cancers, and then said HPV (Human papillomavirus). I started laughing, because I thought that only effected women, but he told me because of my age, it’s a cancer virus and it’s becoming more common in men. And that’s what it turned out to be.” 

The lump was removed but as doctors feared, the cancer was in Ger’s tonsils and had spread to the lymph node. Immediate and intensive radium and chemotherapy treatment was required.

“I was still feeling great physically. I couldn’t believe it,” said Ger.

If the cancer had not been caught, it could have been a Stage 4 cancer by now.

“If I can get any message out there, a bump or a lump or something unusual that shouldn’t be there, get it checked out,” said Ger.

The treatment took a toll and Ger’s sense of taste, appetite and energy levels remain impacted, but he is a hugely thankful man.

“I have come an awful long way,” he stated.

Ger said he can understand people’s frustrations with the health system, but the care he was provided with at Cancer Care West’s Inis Aoibhinn Lodge was incredible.

“It was just unbelievable, from things you wouldn’t think of like dietitians, and speech therapy. It was just top class.” 

He said cancer ‘takes no prisoners’ and people he knew receiving treatment at the same time as him were not so lucky.

The councillor was blown away by the support he received from family, friends, the community and political colleagues.

“It was just phenomenal and overwhelming. I will never forget it.” 

Ger has recently returned to his beloved Tidy Towns and hopes to return to his role as a special needs assistant at Snugboro NS in September. He is expected to be named as the new Cathaoirleach of Castlebar Municipal District tomorrow (Wednesday).

“I didn’t think I would see it or would be fit for it, but it would be a huge honour. I am so proud of Castlebar.” 

Ger remains in remission and he said the experience has changed him.

“I am going to look at life differently. I have got a second chance at life, and I intend to take it.”