Tag Archives: cancer screening

A CLARE woman’s experience of cancer screening services during the pandemic has been described in the Dail as “a living nightmare”. The woman, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form cancer after an 18-month wait for routine screening, had her case highlighted by Deputy Violet Anne Wynne during a series of statements on Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “She was not informed that screening had stopped,” Deputy Wynne said, referring to the pausing of BreastCheck services during the pandemic. “She has attended her mammogram every year. However, the service just stopped and she did not have access to a mammogram for 18 months. Worse still, she was not notified, there was no consultation or communication and no information was inputted on the website.” The Sinn Fein representative said that would have gone for private screening but “was left in the dark battling rising anxiety”. “She knew something was wrong and eventually, a ball of nerves, she went to her doctor,” Deputy …

CALLS for the fast-tracking of medical procedures, deferred because of Covid-19, are gathering momentum, as a leading Clare cancer campaigner described the situation as “incredibly concerning”. Quin resident John Wall, who has terminal prostate cancer, said the postponing of elective procedures, as well as the suspension of the national breast and cervical cancer screening programmes, needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency. “The government nationalised public hospitals, in good faith, because of the potential overflow that was envisaged because of a potential peak in Coronavirus,” he said. “Thankfully, that surge hasn’t materialised. However, we now find ourselves in the position that the vast majority of public beds are lying empty, elective procedures have been cancelled. We’re reopening the country, but we have no definitive plan yet to move forward on this. Ultimately, we all want universal healthcare. I pay for private health insurance, I would prefer not [to have] to. I would prefer to place my faith in …