'Silence equals invisibility': Cork cancer survivor urges people to take screening tests

Concern is growing about gaps in uptake of cancer screening with only half of people getting a BowelScreen home-testing kit returning them
'Silence equals invisibility': Cork cancer survivor urges people to take screening tests

'I may be positive but I’m never negative,' says William Kennedy. As a long-time HIV activist and more recent cancer survivor William campaigns for public awareness and is currently involved as a volunteer with the HSE’s new bowel screening programme. Picture: Chani Anderson

Silence equals invisibility for patients, according to a Cork cancer survivor involved in a project to improve cancer screening, as he urged people to speak up about things that are wrong instead of walking away.

Concern is growing about gaps in uptake with only half of people getting a BowelScreen home-testing kit returning them, for example.Ā 

Will Kennedy, from The Glen in Cork City, previously saw how badly silencing of HIV/AIDs patients affected their care.

ā€œI’ve a strong feeling that silence really does equal invisibility,ā€ he warned.

ā€œI’m a member of a community, we have HIV, and we’re invisible. And if you’re invisible, you don’t have a voice.

ā€œWhen it comes to my health, if I’m not being heard or not being seen, then I’m not part of the decision-making programme that impacts my health. For a lot of people, that leads them to disengage with the services they need.ā€Ā 

He was ā€œscepticalā€ initially about this HSE network involving patients and healthcare workers talking about screening for bowel, cervical and breast cancers as well as retinopathy.

He had seen patient advocates on the national AIDS strategy committee used as "a tick-box".Ā 

ā€œI used to go to meetings in Dublin and I’d sit in with consultants, prison officers, nurses," he said. "And I always felt as the two people living with HIV we were just asked at the end of the meeting what we thought."Ā 

However, he said of the screening network: ā€œIt’s the one thing I can say about this service, I feel as a queer man living with HIV that my concerns were listened to, everything that we suggested was heard.ā€Ā 

Will Kennedy, from The Glen in Cork City, previously saw how badly silencing of HIV/AIDs patients affected their care. Picture: Chani Anderson
Will Kennedy, from The Glen in Cork City, previously saw how badly silencing of HIV/AIDs patients affected their care. Picture: Chani Anderson

Mr Kennedy, 66 and author of ā€˜My Secret Life’ about living with HIV, said he has heard women describe anxieties around cervical screening.Ā 

HSE National Screening Service CEO, Fiona Murphy, said it has 26 volunteers but are now calling for more. BowelScreen starts with a free test.Ā 

ā€œOnly half the people we invite to take the screening test at home do it,ā€ she said. ā€œWe’re looking at how we can get more people to take up screening basically and the patients help us in that.ā€Ā 

The highest uptake is across cervical and breast cancer screening at ā€œ70% to 80% uptakeā€, she said.

However, she added: ā€œWe know that 40% of the cervical cancers in that same age group are for people who don’t come for screening. So it’s really disproportionate now, because we know screening works to reduce and prevent cancer.ā€Ā 

Information on the Patient and Public Partnership is on the HSE website.

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