Dawn Butler Paid Tribute To The NHS After Early Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Labour MP Dawn Butler has thanked the NHS after revealing that she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2021. Early cancer cells were picked up in a routine mammogram scan in Nov. last year. In a statement posted on her website and via Twitter, she shared: “Of course, everything stood still, as it does when you hear the dreaded C-word. It is a shock, but an early diagnosis means that it is something that I will get through and over. The NHS has caught my cancer early, the operation was a complete success, and I will make a full recovery.”

The MP for Brent Central, in North-West London, added that she would be following doctors’ advice and taking some time off work to recover. “Everyone who knows me knows that I am a workaholic and I love what I do — but unless I listen to medical advice and recover well, I will not be able to give my best,” she said. “Hopefully, my recovery won’t take too long. But in the meantime, please bear with me and thank you very much in advance for your support.”

Elsewhere, Butler paid tribute to the hard work of the NHS staff, who are “soldiering through,” in the face of a huge backlog of patients waiting to be seen after various lockdowns delayed their treatments. “ I have seen first-hand how the NHS is under enormous pressure. The Royal London Hospital seemed full: people were waiting on chairs in A&E for beds, the staff were exhausted in the NHS, and many were suffering from PTSD,” she said.

“So many people have missed appointments (many through no fault of their own), results are delayed and operations postponed. If we are to show our appreciation for the amazing NHS workers and rebuild our health service, then we need to properly invest in the NHS, both structurally and in the very people who keep it functioning.”

Bustle wishes Dawn Butler all the best with her recovery.

For more information, head to Breast Cancer Now — a research and care charity offering resources, support and advice.