My alternative road to health

IT takes a lot of courage to take health care into your own hands, but a diagnosis of an inoperable and untreatable cancerous tumour can push you to find untold strengths.

Not that 62-year-old Michael Sheehan was ever weak. A successful life and pensions broker, married with three daughters and a son, he had a lot going for him.

At least up to February of last year. Already being treated for the blood condition haemochromatosis which led to cirrhosis of the liver, he felt particularly unwell on a trip to the US. On his return after numerous tests, a tumour was found in his liver and he was given a prognosis of no more than seven months to live.