​Louth man diagnosed with cancer just months after his wife had a stroke calls for Daffodil Day support

Co Louth man Joseph Woods, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma just months after his wife suffered a stroke, is calling on people to support Daffodil Day.

“Katie had a stroke on August 19 2019, just a month to the day that we were married,” says Joseph from Dundalk.

“When she had started to recover, I started to get ill. It all happened in a couple of months.”

“I had a sore back and when I say sore I mean excruciating. It was so sore that I would collapse and couldn’t move for a length of time.”

He was in and our of hospital before getting a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system.

“I had six biopsies and surgery.”

Two days later, he began six months of chemotherapy treatment.

“The same week that I started chemo, we discovered that Katie was expecting.”

“It was a bittersweet time but it gave me something to fight for, something to look forward to.”

Joseph underwent six months of chemo, travelling to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda every two weeks.

“Chemotherapy was pretty tough, it really took its toll on my body, I put on a lot of weight and lost my hair,” he says.

He also set up a Facebook page ‘Joseph’s journey with Hodgkin’s lymphoma’ to document his illness and to provide hope and support to others in a similar situation”

“I wanted to document what I was going through and let people know how i was getting on. I also wanted to raise awareness about Hodgkin’s so that if someone had the same symptoms as me, they would get checked.”

He admits that he was a “ typical man” and didn’t go to the doctor straight away when he started getting back pain.

“I did what fellas do – I put it on the long finger. I thought it was just a pain in the back and took painkillers.”

“If my story helps one person, I’ll be happy. I think especially men can put things off, but if there is something wrong, go get it checked. If I hadn’t, I might not be here today to tell my story.”

Joseph and Katie were over the moon in August 2020, when they were told he was cancer free and now in remission.

“I have to have routine check ups for five years and at the last one I was told I’m still in remission.”

Their beautiful baby girl, Dayna was born in October 2020. Dayna is now three, and Joseph has since returned to work as a Prison Officer.

During treatment, he found great solace in the support of the Irish Cancer Society.

“I spoke to some Irish Cancer Society Nurses, and it was good to have someone to speak to and know that I wasn’t alone, because opening up and talking to people really helps, it makes it so much easier”.

Since Joseph was diagnosed in 2020, he has lost both his godparents, a cousin, and a friend to cancer.

He also praises the North Louth Hospice in Dundalk. “They are brilliant. I can’t praise them enough. They are all volunteers and were very good to us and we’ll never forget that.”

To support Daffodil Day see www.cancer.ie

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan’s exclusive take on the day’s news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.