Vicky Phelan, cervical cancer campaigner, 1974 — 2022
Vicky Phelan called herself a “stubborn bitch”. But the tenacity of the Irish cervical cancer campaigner, who has died aged 48, exposed one of the most shocking medical scandals in the country’s history.
Phelan highlighted the plight of more than 200 women like herself who were falsely told their cervical smear tests were normal and only learned years later — in her case, when she was already terminally ill — that the mistake had been discovered, but kept secret.
Following her death on Monday — which doctors had told Phelan could have been prevented had she been correctly diagnosed — Taoiseach Micheál Martin honoured “the poise, determination, courage and compassion she showed in her battle not just with cancer but also with the system that failed her, and so many others, so dismally”.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Jude Webber
