Stephen Teap: ‘I want to be able to tell my sons I did something’

Father-of-two Stephen Teap says his role as a patient advocate was born out of trauma - the death of his wife Irene from cervical cancer at 37. Here, he writes about his determination to prevent similar tragedies in the future

CervicalCheck campaigner Stephen Teap on the beach at Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork. Picture: David Creedon

UNTIL the Cervical Check scandal, I had never envisioned myself as a patient advocate. How did I end up in this role? 

It all began nine months after losing my wife, Irene, to cervical cancer in 2017. At 37, I was struggling to cope with my grief while being a single parent to my two boys, aged five and three, and maintaining a full-time job.