I may be barking up wrong tree.. but thanks, George

A reader spotted this message pinned to a tree in Wishaw, Lanarkshire.

Gosh, I’m touched. I had no idea George Clooney was even in Scotland.

There is a chance, I suppose, the message is meant for a different “Lesley” and was left by a lovesick human who is not a Hollywood hunk of scrumptiousness. In which case, I’m sure he/she could think of a more direct route to express his affection. In the humble opinion of this “Lesley”, diamonds work better than soggy signs on sycamores.

Unless you’re George Clooney.

But we can hazard a guess that plenty did. Coronavirus has grabbed all the headlines, all the attention and all the resources over recent months. The NHS has been busy saving lives in unprecedented times, facing a virus we knew nothing about.

For many, it would have seemed shamefully self- obsessed to trouble the GP with a “silly” concern that was probably nothing anyway.

In any case, screening programmes were put on hold while the Covid fight was waged.

We now know that almost 400,000 routine checks for bowel, breast and cervical cancer were delayed.

The message – implied or explicit – was there are more important things to deal with right now. Cancer can wait, right?

We are now beginning to see the fallout of this approach: a terrible backlog of cases trying to squeeze their way through. A race against time, for many.

As of the end of June, almost 100,000 people were waiting for one of eight key diagnostic tests – up 10,000 since March. Some 65 per cent of those were waiting for investigation of possible breast and bowel cancers.

And charities are warning that the delays could lead to a surge in patients diagnosed in the later stages, when the illness is advanced or terminal.

This is awful enough for older people, who have learned that their ageing bodies are susceptible and who are quicker to react to classic symptoms.

But what will it mean to those young folk who are not in the “higher risk” categories, who may dismiss for longer dubious lumps and bumps, who think they’re invincible because youth is on their side?

Could the knowledge that waiting times are now so long mean that we will all be less likely to present with suspect symptoms for a while yet? “There’s no point rushing to the docs right now,” we may think. “I’ll get checked once things have calmed down.” Please don’t. Go now.

As if to warn us all that time is always of the essence – regardless of age – Sarah Harding of Girls Aloud fame chose last week to reveal that not only has she been fighting breast cancer but she has just received the devastating news that it has spread.

The 38-year-old is having chemotherapy every week. She bravely posted a selfie while undergoing treatment. At her age, no one would have put her at risk.

In an emotional Instagram message, she says she is “fighting as hard as I possibly can” and “doing my very best to keep positive”, though the diagnosis of advanced disease must be a brutal blow.

Her experience is a heartbreaking wake-up call for young women who think they’re safe because they’re nowhere near 50, the age for regular NHS breast screening.

But it’s also a reminder that treatment is available once you get through the system. The onus is now on the Scottish Government to recognise the issue and put rapid response measures in place.

The shiny new Louisa Jordan Hospital at the SEC, which comes complete with all the most Covid-appropriate infection control, was offered by the health secretary as a facility that could be used to help the NHS “recover” from the knock-on effects of dealing with the Covid crisis.

Couldn’t it become a national cancer testing centre? The capacity has got to be found somewhere, the funding provided, because the cost of taking our eye off the ball is just far too great.

Marion O’Neill, of Cancer Research Scotland, said: “Tackling the backlog of those waiting for tests will require more workforce, more equipment and the adoption of other innovations that release capacity into the system.”

So, let’s have it. ’Cause this damned coronavirus has wreaked enough havoc. We cannot allow its malevolent influence to give cancer a helping hand.