A 71-year-old cancer survivor has said that he "felt discriminated against" after being refused life insurance in the wake of his diagnosis.
Mike Conneely, from Maigh Cuilinn in Co Galway, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in his 20s and spent two months in treatment at St Luke's Hospital in Dublin.
He was due to get married at the time and he gave a wry chuckle as he recalled the specialist telling his wife-to-be not to go ahead with the wedding due to a poor prognosis for survival.
Mike was refused life insurance at the time and in subsequent years, despite a five-year remission.
He was speaking after research showed that up to five million cancer survivors in Europe are being denied basic financial services including life assurance, mortgages and travel insurance.
"My consultant told me my chances of survival would greatly improve if I got five years behind me," he said.
"I remember in the early years when I wanted to build a house and I went looking for insurance and they asked me about my medical history and told them I had been through cancer.
"So they wanted a letter from my consultant that I was clear but he told me he couldn't give me a very favourable report at that time."
Mike got married after beating his cancer diagnosis. He was still refused life insurance but decided to go ahead and build a house himself in Maigh Cuilinn.
"That's the one time in my life that I felt discriminated against.
"I always had it in the back of my mind that this cancer might come back and get me and I didn't want to have a big mortgage because if I died from cancer my wife would be left with that big mortgage.
"So I went and built the house myself in my spare time. It took me two and a half years. And here I am today at 71 years. That's my story."
Mike keeps a watchful eye on his health and availed of a free consultation at an Irish Cancer Society roadshow in Galway city.
The clinic is at Galway Shopping Centre on the Headford Road today and tomorrow.
The society is encouraging members of the public to come along and talk to the specialist cancer nurses on hand.
Free blood pressure checks, body mass index and carbon monoxide readings are also available.
The aim is to promote lifestyle changes and to increase awareness of cancer symptoms as well as early detection.
