Image: Shutterstock/Africa Studio Image: Shutterstock/Africa Studio THERE WAS A significant drop in GP clinic referrals for breast, prostate, lung and skin cancer in March this year compared to the same month last year.
For skin cancer referrals, the numbers still haven’t quite recovered yet: they dropped from 1,600 between March-May last year, to 898 this year. That represents a drop of 44%. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris are among those who have urged people with persistent symptoms – like a lump, rectal bleeding or chest pains – to get themselves checked urgently.
The deaths that will result from halting these 'non-essential' screenings will eclipse any potential lives saved from coronavirus. Buckle up, a shitstorm is brewing.