Young Irish dad diagnosed with stage 4 cancer while working abroad

His daughter is over 1,000 km away.

An Irish dad working abroad has been diagnosed with stage four cancer while working in Germany. Dublin native Conan Kelly was diagnosed with stage four oesophageal cancer in June while he was working away from his young daughter Sophie and his mum Mairead. The 29-year-old left Ireland for Munich so he could provide for his little girl after he was let go from his previous job. His mum Mairead fears Conan will run out of money to continue his fight, after a series of delays in diagnosing the disease caused him to lose valuable time. She has set up a GoFundMe to try and help with the costs of Conan's treatment - and has raised €11,143 of a €115,000 goal so far. Conan started to feel unwell early last year - leading to him being absent from work for five months. Soon after, he was offered work in Munich, which he eagerly accepted - but meant he had to leave his beloved daughter behind. His health continued to deteriorate after the move, leading to further tests eventually being carried out - and to him getting the devastating diagnosis. Mairead wrote on the GoFundMe page:

"Cónan had been successfully employed in a job he loved for ten years and had moved up in the company several times. "However when he kept getting sicker, had no diagnosis to show and couldn’t commit to attending work regularly because of his health - he was let go. "As a responsible father looking to provide for his daughter, he accepted a job in Germany almost immediately. "His health, however, continued to decline and he ended up in the Accident and Emergency department of the local hospital."

German doctors carried out more tests and delivered the devastating diagnosis to the young dad. Conan, who has since been let go from his German job, is currently staying in rented accommodation. He began his Chemotherapy and Radiatontherapy treatment in late June. Mum Mairead added to the GoFundMe:

"Cónan has had his medical insurance reinstated after lengthy discussions with them and they will cover most of his medical expenses. That is ONE worry out of the way. "He began his Chemotherapy and Radiatontherapy on Thursday 29th June and will continue with it until it is finished. "As everyone reacts to chemo/radio differently we have no idea how well or badly Cónan will react and can only hope that his is not a severe reaction."

She explained that family and friends have set up a roster to help provided ongoing day to day care for Conan, with many flying over to Germany and help. For more information or to help Conan and Mairead, click here. Featured image via GoFundMe.