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Vicky Phelan’s incredible achievements explained following the news of her death

Vicky Phelan, one of the most prominent female advocates of our time, has sadly passed away at the age of 48.

The Cervical cancer campaigner died in the early hours of this morning at Milford Hospice in Limerick.

Vicky underwent a smear test for cervical cancer in 2011, and although her test showed no abnormalities – she was diagnosed with cervical cancer three years later.

An internal CervicalCheck review found that her original result was incorrect, but Vicky was not informed of this fact until 2017.

In April 2018, Vicky was awarded €2.5m in damages in the High Court over the error, and her story led to the CervicalCheck scandal.

At the time, Vicky stood at the steps of the High Court and gave an impassioned speech about how the system had horrendously let her down, and cost her her life.

It subsequently emerged that over 221 women with cervical cancer had initially been given the all-clear based on smear tests carried out by the CervicalCheck screening programme.

Vicky went on to establish a support group for the women affected by the scandal with fellow cervical cancer campaigner Lorraine Walsh and Stephen Teap, whose wife Irene died from the disease.

The cervical check scandal is now known as one of the worst women’s health scandals in Irish history.

After receiving her terminal diagnosis, Vicky used her platform to fight for justice, and highlighted the lack of cancer treatments available in Ireland.

One of her many achievements was her fight to have the 221 women affected by the scandal given access to an experimental drug called Pembro free of charge.

VIPIRELAND.COM

Vicky’s intensive lobbying campaign was successful, and the state eventually agreed to extend the treatment to all cervical cancer patients.

In 2019, Vicky penned an award-winning memoir called Overcoming, in which she shared her remarkable, wider personal story.

The Kilkenny native was on Pembro for almost three years before she became aware it was no longer working for her at the end of 2020.

In January 2021, Vicky subsequently travelled to the US to undergo a clinical trial for months.

Vicky and her two children

But last October, Vicky revealed that she had to return to Ireland to receive palliative chemotherapy, after discovering new tumours in her body.

Vicky was about to start proton beam therapy to shrink the tumours in her lower back, but was no longer eligible for the new treatment after doctors discovered more tumours in her neck, and one on her bowel.

A docu-film about her life, called ‘Vicky’, recently premiered in Irish cinemas and received rave reviews.

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