CUH Expert Says Disruptions To Cancer Treatment Will Lead To Higher Mortality Rate For Next Decade

Leading cancer specialist, Professor Seamus O'Reilly, is warning that disruptions to cancer detection and treatment, caused by Covid-19, will result in a higher death rate over the next 10 years.

The consultant medical oncologist in Cork University Hospital, is leading a drive to get the HSE to implement a 'catch-up and keep-up' strategy to deal with the patient backlog.

The drive is being run by the Irish Cancer Society and Cancer Trials Ireland.

Professor O'Reilly believes the effects of Covid on the healthcare system will be evident for years to come:

"If you disrupt a service for six months, cancer mortality increases for a decade afterwards. Our services have been disrupted for a year now. And a study from England that was published last week, where they're vaccinating at a much greater rate than we are, predicts that lockdowns and social easing will take until the second quarter of 2022 to go."