Vicky Phelan calls on country to get behind the HSE

She has been “let down by our Government and by our health service” but cervical cancer patient advocate Vicky Phelan says she is now asking people to “trust the people who are leading our country” as we “need to show solidarity at this time, and work together”.

Ms Phelan was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014 and was given the all-clear after aggressive treatment. However, in 2017, during a routine checkup, she was told by her gynaecologist that an audit carried out by CervicalCheck found that her 2011 smear test had been reported as a false negative. Weeks later, a CT scan revealed the cancer had returned. This time the diagnosis was terminal.