A young dad diagnosed with terminal cancer has used the money raised in his fight for life to get immunotherapy in a London hospital – after being refused this treatment in Galway because he has no private insurance.

The plight of James Hastings first highlighted by the Connacht Tribune last week has resulted in over €211,000 being donated by members of the public moved by his heart-breaking story. With the money came suggestions of where the Kinvara tyre man should seek treatment for stage 4 Cholangiocarcinoma or bile duct cancer.

He was advised to get onto AMMF, the only registered charity in the UK working to raise funds for research into Cholangiocarcinoma. They recommended Professor John Bridgewater who specialises in biliary tract cancers.

The donations secured a private appointment with Prof Bridgewater who has arranged for James to undergo tests at University College Hospital, London. Once the scans come back, the medic will organise for him to undergo immunotherapy.

He also secured an appointment with experts at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Center, considered one of the best cancer hospitals in the world, as recommended by his consultant in Galway.

Photo shows James Hastings at home. Photo: Andrew Downes.

Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.

To make a donation, log onto the GoFundMe page, Help James Hastings beat Cancer.