'One consultant we went to gave me six months to a year'

While working as Santa last December, a serious and persistent cough forced Declan Costello to quit. The following month, doctors diagnosed him with stage-four cancer. Now, immunotherapy is giving him a fighting chance

Declan Costello from Rush who is undergoing immunotherapy for cancer says "The comback is stronger than the setback." Photograph Moya Nolan

DECLAN COSTELLO was in Galway in mid-December 2024, working as a Santa in the run-up to Christmas, when he developed a “bad cough”.

The cough got so bad that he had to stop working and return to his home in Rush, Co Dublin. As the cough worsened, he made an appointment with his GP.