Sir, – Europa Donna Ireland, the Irish Breast Cancer Campaign, is concerned about delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as the temporary cessation of screening.
While we fully understand the challenges posed by Covid-19 over the last months, we now need to see a plan for the full resourcing and reinstatement of services.
Screening has made a significant contribution to improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in recent years and it would be tragic to see the services go backwards.
Early resumption of screening is vital to earlier diagnosis of the disease and a strategy is required to maintain the service at full capacity in the event of further Covid surges.
Europa Donna Ireland urges everyone to abide by Government regulations and recommendations on Covid. Many cancer patients are very vulnerable and could be infected all too easily.
Apart from the potentially devastating consequences for them and their families, this will take up resources in our hospitals and medical system – further delaying a return to any kind of normality.
We advise any woman with any symptoms to go to her GP. The specialist clinics are open, as they have been throughout the pandemic. Download, from the europadonnaireland.ie website, our leaflet Nine Things You Should Know About Breast Cancer, which has information about symptoms and a list of the specialist clinics. – Yours, etc,
DEIRDRE O’CONNELL,
Europa Donna Ireland,
The Irish Breast Cancer
Campaign,
PO Box 6602,
Dublin 8.