The Health Service Executive and two hospitals have apologised to a man after his cancer was undiagnosed for almost seven years.
Gino Appezzato settled his High Court action for €1.55 million.
Afterwards, he said his life had been destroyed and he had been "utterly let down" by the Irish health system before his eventual diagnosis.
Mr Appezzato, 50, has lived in Kilkenny since moving to Ireland from Brisbane in Australia, more than 21 years ago.
The court was told Mr Appezzato first went to St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny in October 2009 for a scan due to pain in his lower back.
A small mass was incorrectly identified as a lymph node.
Senior Counsel Dr John O’Mahony told the court that this was not followed up and if it had been, the cancer would have been diagnosed and appropriate steps would have been taken.
The HSE admitted that this first scan should have been followed up appropriately.
Mr Appezzato was then referred to University Hospital in Waterford where he was reviewed in December 2009, May 2010 and January 2011 and reassured that there was no cause for concern.
A CT scan in January 2016 showed a very large mass in his abdominal region, which had grown from being the size of an olive to the size of a fist.
Dr O'Mahony said Mr Appezzato underwent chemotherapy and then had "groundbreaking" surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.
He suffered cardiac arrest during the surgery and a considerable amount of his anatomy was removed, including part of his heart, his right kidney and part of his gallbladder.
He had been to the end of the world and back, Dr O'Mahony told the court.
Mr Appezzato said his life had been destroyed. He said his brain and body were broken, he had lost his business and his livelihood because he had not been told that he had cancer.
He said the seven-year delay in diagnosis meant he had to have highly aggressive and invasive treatment and now had a lower life expectancy because the tumour grew so large.
However, he said the care he had received after the diagnosis was impeccable.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey thanked Mr Appezzato for telling the court what he had suffered.
The judge said it was an extraordinary story that the health service that nearly killed him was the health service that saved his life.
St Luke's Hospital said it wanted to express an "unreserved apology" to Mr Appezzato and his family for the failings in care and the distress they had caused.
University Hospital Waterford also apologised unreservedly to Mr Appezzato and his family.
