Padraig Harrington has opened up on losing his father to cancer 'way too young'.
The golfer's dad Paddy died from oesophageal cancer aged 72 in 2005, with the three-time major winner admitting that his death probably could have been prevented if medical treatment was sought earlier.
Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on Friday's Late Late Show, Harrington said: "To be honest, we lost him way too young. He was only 72 but he was a very fit 72.
"Very active, really everything else about him was fit, healthy and strong.
"He was really going great guns at that stage.
"It really was a shame for us and something that as it turned out - probably was preventable."
He added: "The symptoms are reasonably obvious.
"It's persistent heartburn, persistent acid reflux, persistent trouble swallowing, all those things that you'd take indigestion tablets for. My dad used to live on those tablets.
"And he was a typical Irish dad y'know that would just get on with it, keep going and not worry about it.
"It's something with oesophageal cancer that if you catch it early, it's very treatable.
"Like all cancers - catch it early and you've got a great chance of beating it."
Harrington is now an advocate for the Oesophageal Cancer Fund, with April being their big fundraising month. You can support Lollipop Month by donating here.
