THE POSITIVE PROFESSOR

SOCIAL media’s voice of calm Karol Sikora has been signed up by the Daily Express. Readers can now enjoy his soothing advice in these troubled times that have won him hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter. If you need reassuring everything’s going to be all right read Professor Positivity.

I UNDERSTAND that many newspapers columns are filled with interesting gossip about celebrities and incisive political commentary, not an oncologist banging on about the state of cancer treatment in our country.

So far I sincerely hope I haven’t bored too many of you with my pleas for action.

Over my career I’ve treated tens of thousands of patients. One of the worst things I have to do is tell someone that little can be done because the cancer wasn’t found early enough.

Cancer can affect anyone. I’ve had the fittest and healthiest young people sit opposite me in the clinic and be told they have a matter of months to live. On so many occasions, had we caught it sooner more could have been done.

My whole life has been dedicated to making sure that those conversations happen less and less. It’s why I got involved in this virus debate, I just knew that cancer patients would be forgotten about and sadly that is exactly what has happened.

I’ve received a huge amount of abuse and unfair criticism from colleagues for trying to counter some of the fear we’ve seen.

It was never about downplaying the virus. It was always about giving people the confidence to get themselves medical help.

If we’re relentlessly told a killer virus is on the loose and even stepping out of your home for a second will put you in danger, do people seriously think that won’t deter some from seeking help?

It’s exactly what’s happened. Honestly, the thought of how many people have developed cancer and don’t even know fills me with horror.

So my message is this – before using superlative language about a second wave with little evidence, remember that those careless words have consequences.