Dear Editor,

May I, through the publication of your well-read newspaper, point out some of the facts regarding the recent announcements by the government and the HSE on improvements in cancer services here in Ireland. It is with personal interest that I tend to observe such matters, I myself being a cancer survivor.

Two years ago I was diagnosed with stomach cancer and had surgery to remove the cancer. (I am still undergoing treatment.)  I subsequently spent the next nine months in hospital. During that time I received chemotherapy and radiotherapy and exceptional care and attention from the staff of the hospital.

While any advancement in the field of oncology and the early diagnosis of cancer must be welcomed, let’s look at the truth behind the latest smoke screen thrown at us, in regards to the eight new specialised units/wards that are to open in various locations around the country. How have we managed up to now, I ask?

These so called new facilities have been in existence for some time. What the government should have announced was the long overdue upgrading of such facilities. In the economic climate that this country has enjoyed for the past decade or so, it is well time that our citizens get modern and accessible health care. But is that what we are getting?

2011 will be an ideal time for the government to claim that we have an up-to-date cancer service in Ireland, as an election will be looming (If this current government should last its life span, which is unlikely). By then, the electorate may have forgotten that no sooner had the government taken office in 2007, then they caused mayhem in an already critical situation, in our health service.
 
Over the coming weeks and months, there are going to be a lot of campaigns to try to keep open the units that are proposed for closing, and rightly so. There may be some leeway in some areas, depending on the political clout being carried from that HSE region. Unfortunately, we in East Galway don't have a lot of political clout and yet again the prolonged saga of the Grove Hospital in Tuam will drag on and on!