Tipperary widow talks about how super-fit husband was diagnosed with terminal illness

Kieran Dunne was a fit and healthy 48-year-old when he noticed that his ankles had become swollen. Initially, he and his wife Karen put it down to his many flights back and forth to the United States for work.

However, tests revealed that he was suffering from cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), or bile duct cancer. By the time his cancer was diagnosed almost a year ago, it was at stage four.

“We were on a journey that we never knew,” says Karen.

“Kieran started chemotherapy and immunotherapy at the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork but the cancer continued to progress. He started a different chemotherapy programme in July but again, it had no effect”.

Six months after his initial diagnosis, he passed away on September 26 of last year, at the age of just 49.

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Now, a local campaign to raise awareness about this rare form of cancer that claimed her husband’s life is being spearheaded by Karen Dunne, who was also involved in the establishment of a support group for sufferers of the illness and their families.

This Thursday, February 20, is World CCA Day. An international event to raise awareness about the disease, it will be commemorated in Ireland for the first time this year thanks to Karen and others involved in the Cholangiocarcinoma Ireland support group.

A number of prominent landmarks around the country will be lit up in green as part of the campaign. These include the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle, the Dunbrody Famine Ship in New Ross, Tipperary University Hospital, the Boston Scientific Plants in Clonmel, Cork and Galway, and the Town Hall and County Hall in Clonmel.

Bulmers and Boston Scientific are also holding information, awareness and fundraising events at their plants.

Kieran Dunne lived in Highbury, London, until the age of 13, when he and family moved to New Ross, where he met his future wife. The couple lived in Ard na Sidhe on the Cashel Road in Clonmel before moving to Cappauniac, between Cahir and Bansha, with their children Isabelle (17), Louis (15) and 10-year-old Hugo.

Kieran worked for medical devices company Boston Scientific, having previously held positions with Bulmers and MSD.

“Kieran’s diagnosis last March came completely out of the blue,” says Karen.

“He was a member of the Clonmel Triathlon Club and he completed Ironman events.

“We thought he would beat this illness but its progression was quite rapid.

“I joined the British and American support groups, because at the time in Ireland there was very little information about the illness.

“The numbers are increasing. What used to be an older person’s illness is now becoming more prevalent among people in their 30s and 40s, particularly men.

“When Kieran was diagnosed we felt very lost. We didn’t have a lot of information and treatments were limited”.

Boston Scientific put the Dunnes in touch with a consultant at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, and with consultants in the UK.

“We were getting ready to travel for treatment in the United States, but Kieran became very ill and he wasn’t strong enough to travel.

“He never made it abroad to have those treatments”.

While researching the illness, the couple connected with other Irish people, either sufferers themselves or their families, who were also affected by bile duct cancer.

They found they were a great support to each other. With information about CCA so limited in this country, they decided to set up an Irish support and advocacy group, which is now up and running (https://www.cholangiocarcinomaireland.ie).

The group wants to provide reliable and current information for Irish patients in relation to the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, as well as recommendations about specialists in Ireland and abroad.

It also aims to support research into better treatments for this relatively rare type of cancer, which they hope will ultimately lead to a cure.

“The commemoration of World CCA Day in Ireland will get the message out there that we exist as a foundation to support sufferers and their care-givers,” says Karen Dunne.

“We are patient-focused. There is also an issue with immunotherapy, which private patients have access to but public patients don’t, and we are lobbying for that to be changed”.

The support for the first World CCA Day in Ireland has been a source of encouragement for Karen and her fellow members of the Irish support group.

“We’re delighted with the way everyone is trying to help out,” she says.