Christy Dignam's joy as cure found for his rare cancer
Singer Christy Dignam has revealed that a cure has been found for the rare cancer he was diagnosed with.
Christy had been diagnosed with amyloidosis and now a gene-silencing drug which appears to halt the condition has been approved for use in England.
"I suffer from a condition called amyloidosis and they've just discovered a cure for it, which is amazing," Christy told the Ray D'Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1.
Up to now it's been untreatable, there was no cure for it. They've just found a cure for it yesterday.
Studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed drug, called patisiran, "halted or reversed" the disease.
"It was done by Prof Julian Gillmore who is in the Royal Free in London and that's who I go to, I go over to the Royal Free every two months."
Prof Gillmore told the BBC that the drug is a groundbreaking development.
"This is making a disease that was previously untreatable, treatable," Prof Gillmore said.
Christy said when he heard the news he began to feel guilty before he felt relief.
I actually started feeling guilty, the first feeling I felt was guilty because I was thinking of other people that have cancer that don't have cures. I just feel unworthy or something.
The Aslan singer said he will try his best to get access to the drug.
"I'm going to do everything that I can," he vowed.
Speaking off air to RTÉ, Christy said: "I had been given a death sentence, you know, and now it’s been lifted, it’s amazing."
