After the death of his wife following the missed diagnosis of cervical cancer, a grieving husband has spoken out about her fight with the illness and her final days.

In April 2017, Julie D. died of cancer at age 36 just seven years after a false negative pap smear resulted in a missed diagnosis of cervical cancer. Julie’s husband, Paul D., recently spoke to the Neil Prendiville Show regarding his wife’s battle with cancer.

Julie had a pap smear test conducted in late 2009, looking for early signs of cervical cancer. Her test was reportedly returned as a false negative, leading to the missed diagnosis of cervical cancer. Her cervical cancer was diagnosed years later in 2013 while she was pregnant with her second child. After undergoing a radical hysterectomy while pregnant, Julie was told that her cancer was gone.

However, in 2015 her cancer returned. Paul says his wife took the news hard but then began focusing on how to beat the illness. She begged the doctors to operate, but her doctors informed her that her illness was too complex. Two weeks before her death in April 2017, Julie was informed that her cancer was untreatable with the symptoms and advanced symptoms. Signs of cervical cancer should be reported to a doctor immediately.

“She never felt sorry for herself,” said Paul, according to Ireland’s The Journal. “She always was just looking for an answer.”

In the following two weeks, Julie’s condition worsened to the point that she struggled to stay awake for an extended period of time.

“She just couldn’t stay awake. We couldn’t keep her awake for more than a minute or two. But when I left the hospital she kept calling me to come back. She rang me and left a voicemail on my phone.”

Watching his wife deteriorate before his eyes took a toll on Paul, leading him to contemplate taking his own life.

“My family knew I didn’t want to do this without her,” he said. However, his wife told him he needed to take care of their daughter Ali.

Paul was with Julie when she died. The couple fell asleep together and Julie passed in Paul’s arms.

“We spoke. She stayed awake for about 20 minutes, and every time she woke up we’d speak some more,” Paul said, according to The Journal. “I told her not to keep fighting. And they woke me up and told me that she was gone.”

In May of last year, Paul was called to speak with Julie’s doctor who informed him that his late wife’s failure to diagnose cervical cancer was related to the huge cervical check scandal in Ireland. 221 women have been affected so far by the scandal, and Julie is one of 17 women to date which have died as a result of a false negative pap result and a failure to diagnose cervical cancer.

Due to the aggressive nature of late-stage cervical cancer, regular pap smears are recommended to monitor for any early signs of the illness. However, if a test returns a false negative, a missed diagnosis of cervical cancer can allow the disease to spread unchecked. This can make it harder to treat when it is inevitably diagnosed.