Vicky Phelan recently shared her story on The Last Word of her missed diagnosis with cervical cancer.
Stephen Teap from Cork, whose wife Irene passed away from cervical cancer a year ago, has also been actively fighting for support for families who have been affected by the scandal.
Stephen has two sons aged four and two, and he has been trying to help them cope with their mother's death as well as dealing with his own pain.
"It's been a horrible 12 months dealing with the grief and trying to deal with my boys' grief as well."
Irene got her terminal diagnosis in July of last year. She sadly passed away before she got a chance to explain the situation fully to her four-year-old, and Stephen says it wasn't until October or November that their two-year-old started to comprehend that she wasn't coming back.
Irene had two smear tests that came back all clear, but after their younger son's birth she started experiencing continuous bleeding. She was eventually diagnosed with stage 2 cervical cancer, which indicated that she had in fact had the early stages of cancer when previously tested.
After Vicky Phelan's story broke, Stephen was told Irene was one of the women whose cases were audited: "I was absolutely floored by it. There's no preparing yourself for it."
Stephen is now committed to getting support for the families of all those affected.
"This is so much bigger now than getting accountability and answers, but to actually be able to use our voices and try to get the best out of it."
To catch the full chat press the play button on the image on the top of the screen
