Vicky steps back to focus on her health
CervicalCheck campaigner recovering after setback
CANCER awareness activist Vicky Phelan is stepping back from campaigning after a serious health setback.
The mother-of-two apologised to her social media followers for being so quiet, revealing that she has been in hospital due to a infection as she feared her cancer may have spread. She disclosed that the cancer ‘has not spread’.
Originally from Kilkenny, the 45-year-old rose to prominence after it emerged that hundreds of smear tests had been inaccurately read as part of the national CervicalCheck programme. In Twitter posts yesterday, she said: ‘Apologies to all my followers on Twitter for my absence over the past couple of weeks. I was very ill. I spent almost a week in hospital, my first as an inpatient since I got cancer. It was scary but I am okay again and a CT scan has revealed that my cancer has not spread.
‘There is no explanation for what made me so ill so they have put it down to a viral infection. My time in hospital has taught me some valuable lessons… I need to pull back from campaigning so heavily and focus on my health and my two children.’
‘I will still use my voice to campaign and to contribute to the conversation around women’s health but I will be doing it on my terms. I don’t know what lies ahead so I need to prioritise my health and my family above all else. Thank you.’ Hundreds of members of the public responded to her news. Psychologist Niamh Fitzpatrick whose sister Captain Dara Fitzpatrick died in the Coast Guard Rescue R116 helicopter crash in 2017, said: ‘You have been immense in the work you’ve done and you have changed the landscape with that work. Time for you now. Take good care.’
Author Liz Nugent added: ‘Can I send you books Vicky? Might be a nice distraction.’
Ms Phelan, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer started receiving the ‘wonder drug’ Pembrolizumab last year.
She will be Grand Marshall in Kilkenny’s St Patrick’s Day parade next month.