Family man died months after noticing 'very minor symptom'
John Haggerty's family want to raise awareness of his illness to encourage men to go and get checked
by Patrick Edrich · Liverpool EchoFamily man whose motto was 'just crack on' died months after noticing 'very minor symptom'
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A grandad who loved nothing more than taking care of his family was diagnosed with prostate cancer soon after he noticed he was using the toilet more.
John Haggerty was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2023 and sadly died of the illness in August of the same year - just weeks after the death of his mum Pat. The 63-year-old, from St Helens, spent his time pottering around his allotment and watching his beloved Saints rugby league team, but above all else loved looking after his family.
One year on from his initial diagnosis, son-in-law, Barry Pope, told the ECHO they want to encourage people to read John's story and go for a check-up, no matter how minor the symptoms. Barry, 38, said: "John was everything to my wife Tina. I spoke to him a lot and looked up to him - he was one of my best mates.
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"He was there for everyone - you couldn't have asked for a better one. He kept himself to himself, but loved looking after his family. My son Jack was the apple of his eye. John was always making sure we were okay and had what we needed.
"If someone needed something, all they would need to do would be to call him - he was the handyman. He had his own problems like anyone, but always made time for other people. He was a massive figure within our family."
Barry, who works for St Helens Council, added John first noticed some very minor symptoms including using the toilet more. But Barry added John was an active man who drank a lot of water so did not think anything about it. However, he said John's diagnosis was a bad one and any treatment that he had didn't go well.
Regular ECHO reader John caught both sepsis and pneumonia while he was battling his cancer diagnosis, but "never moaned once, never complained". Barry said John's motto throughout his fight with the illness was "we just have to crack on".
As John's condition deteriorated, he also had to deal with his mum's declining health. In his final days he was cared for by his wife Pamela and children Tina and Shane after declining the help of carers. Barry added: "He didn't want to bother anyone."
Following his death, Barry said the family "wallowed in our grief" for several months while they tried to "find a new normal". But in December the dad-of-one decided to raise awareness of both John’s story and his battle with the illness, as well as money for Prostate Cancer UK.
Barry set himself the challenge of running 26.2 miles throughout January. And although he initially planned to carry out the challenge just with his immediate family, he soon found the community had gotten behind him and wanted to play their part.
Barry said: "I wanted to do something in his memory because I know he wouldn't have batted an eyelid doing it for anyone else. Doing this has made us feel close to him. I'm not the most mobile lad so I wanted to challenge myself.
"Soon we had lots of people from the community with us. We've had 20 to 40 people come out and join us on some occasions. It really shows how well thought of he was in the community. We feel like it has brought the community together."
Although he set an initial goal of raising £200, Barry said donations have soared to over £3,500 at the time of writing. He added they still have more donations to add to the fundraiser, and have the support of local darts ace Stephen Bunting who has promised a shirt for the family to auction.
Barry and his family will complete the final leg of the challenge tomorrow morning, Sunday, January 21. Because of the success of their fundraising, they are already planning a similar challenge in March.
But above all else, Barry hopes his dad-in-law's story will encourage people to get checked, talk about the illness and break down any stigma. He told the ECHO: "If we can ensure one person reads John's story and goes and gets checked, then it can only be a good thing."
If you want to read more about the fundraiser in John's name and donate to Prostate Cancer UK click here.
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