Police found 43 tablets of the Class A drug when they raided the home of Keith Mason, in Colne, Lancashire.
More than £33,000 in rolled-up notes was also discovered in the defendant's pigeon loft in December 2005.
Burnley Crown Court heard that Mason told detectives he had the tablets for his own personal use to help in his recovery from bowel cancer.
Fraser Livesey, prosecuting, said: "He said he bought the tablets for £1.50 each, and said they gave him a lift.
"He denied supplying the drug, but admitted giving one tablet to a lad but there was no payment."
The court was told that Mason, who had no previous convictions, had since stopped using the drug.
Mason, of Casserley Road, admitted possessing and supplying ecstasy.
A charge of possessing criminal property was ordered to lie on the file, but the Crown Prosecution Service has applied for the cash found in the loft to be confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Sentencing Mason to 36 weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months, Judge Beverley Lunt said: "There is no excuse, ill health or otherwise, for having this amount of drugs in your possession." Tweet