Richard Boyd Barrett, TD for People Before Profit, has announced that his throat cancer treatment was “successful” and the illness has been “eliminated”, and he will be returning to public life.
The Dun Laoghaire TD, who is the parliamentary leader of his party, has been out of the political spotlight in recovery for several months since April of this year, but announced his successful result on RTÉ Radio 1’s Claire Byrne programme.
“I got a scan in the last week or so which says the treatment has been successful and has eliminated the cancer,” he said.
“I will have to be monitored closely, check-ups every three months for the next five years but they are saying it’s worked. It’s as good a result for the treatment I got as you can get.”
The Deputy said that the “harsh” chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment he received had significant side-effects, but that he was ready to return to work gradually.
Boyd Barrett was told that as many as 9 out of 10 patients with this cancer variant recover, and that he had a “good chance”, with the doctors being “confident” going into it.
He first noticed a lump on his neck last October during the 2024 general election. When it was investigated, he had his tonsils removed and a biopsy performed, whereupon it was discovered that he had cancer, which had spread to his lymph nodes.
“The doctors were adamant that I was not to work,” he said at the time of his initial announcement.
“I wanted to explain it because if I just disappeared, people, the constituents who elected me, would be wondering where I’m gone, so I wanted to do them the service of telling them.
“The people who voted for People Before Profit deserve to know if I’m not around. And I just want to stress, I plan to be back as soon as possible.”