Dawn Butler: Labour MP reveals breast cancer diagnosis

Labour MP Dawn Butler has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

In a statement released early on Monday morning, the Brent Central MP said doctors "identified breast cancer cells at a very early stage” following a routine mammogram in November.

Announcing she was taking time to recover, she said it was "something that I will get through and over".

She added: “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,” she said.

“The NHS has caught my cancer early, the operation was a complete success, and I will make a full recovery.

“However, I now have to take time off work for my recovery. 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.”

Butler ended her statement by paying tribute to the NHS, but calling on the the government to do more to help it through the aftermath of the pandemic.

She added: “I want to end my statement by thanking the NHS and everyone who is soldiering through.

“I have seen first-hand how the NHS is under enormous pressure – The Royal London 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 [post traumatic stress disorder]."

“COVID-19 has taken a lot out of them. 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.”

Speaking to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire, Butler said she had no signs or symptoms of breast cancer, and it was only caught through a routine screening.

"A mammogram saved my life," she told the BBC. "Without a mammogram, my cancer wouldn't have been discovered."

After a follow-up biopsy, the politician was asked to see a surgeon the next day. It was at that moment she knew she had cancer, she said.

"It was so overwhelming," she said.

"The first thing I thought was, 'I'm dying'. I thought, 'I've probably got 24 hours to live'. That was my first reaction."