Pat Kenny was joined by TD Richard Boyd Barrett to discuss his cancer diagnosis and the Taoiseach's incoming visit to Washington DC.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd-Barrett has said the Taoiseach should not be attending the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the White House this year.
Speaking on the Pat Kenny Show on Sunday he said the President should not be given the benefit of credibility and the political benefits of celebrating the holiday with Micheál Martin given the United States’ ongoing war with Iran and its support of Israel’s war on Palestine.
“We just think it's crazy to legitimise Trump when he's threatening the world. I don't really see what's to be gained.
“But if he's going to do it, I think he should stay “stop arming the genocide”. He should say things very explicitly. I don’t think he will for a minute, but I think he should”.
He added: “He should absolutely stop this madness, this war, which is now not only threatening death and destruction across the Middle East, Iran, but is actually impacting everybody across the world. It's destabilising the entire global economy. You know, it's just a disaster and it's bringing us to a dangerous place.”
A protest defending Irish neutrality will be taking place in front of the Dáil on Wednesday.
Ireland's Micheal Martin watches as President Donald Trump. Picture by: Alex Brandon.Ahead of Daffodil Day, the TD, who was diagnosed with throat cancer two years ago, urged people to go to the doctor as soon as they feel like something is awry.
“There's no point in burying your head in the sand,” he told Newstalk.
“If you don't, there will be consequences because catching it early is absolutely critical.
“Cancer treatment is advancing, so it isn't a death sentence the way it used to be. 50% of the population will have a brush with cancer and apparently the numbers are increasing.”
The Dun Laoghaire TD explained that he first felt a lump in his neck during the general election campaign and immediately knew it might be serious.
“It was a sort of swelling and I thought maybe it would go away”, he told The Pat Kenny Show.
He said that despite his fears he never questioned the medical advice he received and resisted the urge to check his symptoms on the internet.
“Most people do and frighten themselves which is exactly why I didn’t do it. I thought you can probably find all sorts so not looking might be the most helpful thing to do.”
The TD, who is now in remission, told Pat Kenny that his prognosis was tied to the HPV virus which causes cervical cancer for women and often throat or head cancer for men.
Volunteers from the Irish Cancer Society celebrate the annual Daffodil Day on the streets of Dublin. Picture by: Artur Widak.“There's now a vaccination program but when we were young, there wasn't,” he added.
He explained how the height of treatment was not compatible with carrying on his duties, saying: “Once the level of radio activity in your system reaches a high and then you get the chemo on top of that, you're really pretty flattened. That goes on for quite a few months.”
Asked about the state of public cancer treatment he said it was “pretty excellent” aside from the usage of old radiotherapy machines.
“They're way past their sell-by date,” he told Pat Kenny.
“They're supposed to be replaced every 10 years, which means that they break down sometimes. That’s tough on the patients.
“There are a lot of side effects in such technology and these new machines will significantly reduce side effects because they target cancer and cause less collateral damage.”
Main Image: PBP Richard Boyd Barrett.
