Former Meath boss Sean Boylan appeared on last night's Late Late Show to discuss his experience and recovery from cancer on two separate occasions.
The All-Ireland winning manager discovered his cancer diagnosis on the back of a check-up on his knee. Further investigations detected that he had developed prostate cancer. He was initially told they couldn't operate on it because it was too aggressive, but Boylan later recovered with treatment.
Speaking as part of a panel of former cancer sufferers along with Irish rugby legend Tony Ward and author Michael Murphy, Boylan described the side effects of his condition.
"Do you remember the 'Big Snow of 2010? Well I'm at midnight mass, it's minus seven (degrees), I'm in my short sleeves and I'm totally menopausal. The perspiration is rolling off me and it was the most extraordinary experience of my life."
Sean Boylan, a true gentleman on the @RTELateLateShow is an inspiration to all generations in our society #prostatecancer
— Joe McMahon (@Bigjoemc) November 25, 2016
He adds:
"From the very first (injection), 'I don't like this, I don't like the effect it has on me.' I could feel a change in my personality. I was short, I was snappy, things that normally wouldn't effect me at all. I told Tina (his wife) and the kids 'don't mind me.'"
He then goes on to describe one particular occasion of feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of getting an injection which provoked him to feign weakness in order to avoid it.
"I just didn't have the balls to go for it. I had to take the medication everyday and I was very diligent about it but when I say that journey, it was that understanding of what other people go through. That understanding of how lucky I was, how important it is, no matter who you are, that you go for a check-up."
Sean Boylan is a king #latelate
— David Mulvihill (@daithiii) November 25, 2016
Boylan is in the process of working through his second bout of cancer which he was diagnosed with some three years ago. He confessed he still worries about the unpredictable nature of cancer.
"I'm still as curious as ever about it, often wonder about. Why did it attack me? In the early days, I'd wake up at three or four o'clock in the morning. I'd go outside and I'd walk around. I live in a house that's in the middle of a field and it was like being overwhelmed. I'd think 'mother of God, do the others need this imposed upon them?'"
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
