Michael Flatley, who is in remission from cancer, has told The Brendan O'Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 that he is "good" and "not concerned anymore like I was".
The Lord of the Dance and Riverdance legend joined the show on Saturday morning to discuss key songs in his life, his treatment, and his plans for the future, which include the upcoming Lord of the Dance - 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour.
When asked about his health, he said: "I'm up and down. I'm still going in for treatments regularly, but I don't give in easy. I'm a man of faith, Brendan, and I highly recommend it. It got me through a lot of the tough times. And I'm blessed I have a beautiful wife and son who look after me and give me courage when I need it."
"So treatment still ongoing," said the host.
"Yeah, but I'm good," Flatley replied. "I'm not concerned anymore like I was."
On his treatment, Flatley agreed with the host that it "knocks it out of you".
"They put me on some medication, even recently, and, you know, it's hard. Some days I don't know what planet I'm on until I get my senses straight - just pounding in the water and I go for runs as much as I can, whatever little bit I can get out of me. But yeah, the medication is the hard part. That's really the difficult bit."
"I presume this experience of cancer makes you reflect a bit on your life," said O'Connor.
"It surely does," said Flatley. "It makes you think to yourself, 'Have I done enough in life? Have I given enough to people? Have I been true to myself? Have I done what I wanted to do? Have I done it the way I wanted to do [it]?'
"I'm always talking about, 'The bell rings - throw your best punch'. Have I done that? I look back at my life and I've won my boxing titles and my dance titles and the flute music and these kinds of things and created the shows.
"You know, life has been good to me, but because I'm such a driven person, there's always a higher mountain to climb. There's always another thing to achieve. And much of my life now I spend... I'm trying to inculcate my dancers with that self-belief that, 'Yes, you can have it. Yes, you can do this - whatever it is'. And because of that, most of my dancers go on to open dance schools or go on to business."
Looking back on his life, Flatley said: "I'll stand by it. I've made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I've worked hard. I don't know anyone that's worked harder than me except maybe my father.
"I've certainly given every last drop I had, no matter what I was in, whether it was boxing or dancing or flute playing or any of that stuff. You just have to go after it.
"Would I like to do more? Sure. But I'm proud of the record so far and I'm delighted to be back in Ireland to see the rugby lads and all of these great things. It's wonderful to be alive."
When asked if he has "one last hoof" left in him or another film after making his big-screen feature debut in the self-directed Blackbird, Flatley replied: "I've got a couple of offers, Brendan, and you never know. As I said, I just have this drive. I know I'll never stop, I'll always do something, whatever that is. But I spent the last 30 years promoting Ireland and Irish culture."
Some texters to the show suggested that Flatley should run for the presidency.
"Oh stop!" he laughed. "No. Michael D Higgins is the President of Ireland."
"Until next year," O'Connor offered.
"No comment!" said Flatley. "I'm flattered that they are saying that. God bless them, Brendan."
The Brendan O'Connor Show, Saturdays and Sundays, RTÉ Radio 1, 11:00am
