Irish politician Richard Boyd Barrett shares throat cancer diagnosis
PAA well-known member of the Dáil (Irish Parliament) has revealed he has been diagnosed with throat cancer.
Richard Boyd Barrett, 58, who is a TD for Ireland's People Before Profit party, said he was preparing for an "intense period" of cancer treatment.
Speaking to Irish broadcaster RTÉ, Mr Boyd Barrett said: "All in all, we could be talking three or four months."
He told the Today with Claire Byrne programme that he will be stepping back from politics while he is receiving treatment.
"I wanted to explain it because if I just disappeared, people, the constituents who elected me, would be wondering where I'd gone, so I wanted to do them the service of telling them", he said.
Mr Boyd Barrett added: "The people who voted for People Before Profit deserve to know if I'm not around and I just want to stress I plan to be back as soon as possible".
The TD also explained that he initially noticed swelling in his neck while shaving during the Irish General Election campaign last November.
He said: "They suspected that it was cancer - they had to do an operation, a biopsy, I ended up having to get my tonsils taken out and they found that I had throat cancer that was prompted by the HPV virus".
He also explained that a doctor told him he probably picked up the virus years ago, and that it can be activated because of age, stress, or a weakened immune system.
"According to the doctors, when it's virus-induced, it does improve your chances of recovery", Mr Boyd Barrett added.
"The doctors have said that it is very curable - so I have a good chance.
"It's been caught relatively early because it was in my tonsils. It's gone to my lymph nodes but no further, so I have to get radio[therapy] and chemotherapy, and they say the chances of that working are about eight or nine out of 10, which is good," he said.
Richard Boyd Barrett is one of the most recognisable faces in Irish politics.
He has been an ardent left-wing voice in the Irish Parliament since he was first elected to the Dáil in 2011, representing the constituency of Dún Laoghaire in Dublin.