Inside Health

Coronavirus has turned the NHS upside down and inside out and by re-organising to treat people with the virus, other potentially fatal diseases like cancer have taken a backseat. At University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, which Inside Health visited weekly as the pandemic unfolded, cancer diagnoses fell by half in March and April and of the 50% who were asked to come in for follow up, only 25% actually did. The virus was more frightening than a potential cancer diagnosis. Divisional Director for Medicine at Southampton, Dr Trevor Smith, tells James Gallagher, the BBC's health and science correspondent. that patients are coming back, but it will take a long time to tackle the backlog. For those with cancer caught up in the pandemic, they have experienced disruption, cancellations, altered treatments and they have had to cope with consultations and even surgery by themselves, without loved ones to support them. Charly from Wiltshire was diagnosed with breast cancer in February and her treatm