Analysis

Fallout from the false narrative of mass negligence in cancer screening process persists

International review seeks to prevent a repeat of the sorry Irish experience anywhere else

Misinformation in Ireland has been a simple misunderstanding of what screening programmes are capable of

The publication of the review of Ireland’s cervical cancer screening programme by the International Agency on Cancer Research (IARC) last week has been long awaited.

Since 2018, there has been a narrative that the programme missed an extraordinary amount of cancers due to foreign labs systematically operating with negligently low standards.

Multiple reviews of Ireland’s cervical screening programme have shown that narrative to be simply untrue, but the legal system has made an industry out ...