Scotland will face a "tsunami of cancer deaths" unless the NHS can rapidly deas with a backlog of almost 400,000 screenings delayed during the coronavirus lockdown.
Labour made the stark warning after the Scottish Government confirmed 396,736 breast, bowel and cervical screenings were postponed since lockdown began.
Smear tests to detect cervical cancer were phased back in at the end of June, while the national screening programme should restart from August 3.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Monica Lennon, who obtained the figres, called for the Scottish Government to introduce "a fully resourced plan to restart and prioritise cancer screening and treatment" across Scotland.
Lennon said: "Most cancer services were stopped when Covid-19 struck – 400,000 missed opportunities to find or prevent cancer is risking 400,000 lives Worryingly, we now face a cancer emergency and urgent action is needed to clear the backlog of vital screening appointments.
"Cancer is already Scotland's biggest killer and we face a tsunami of cancer deaths without a rapid response from the Health Secretary."
She added: "Diagnosing cancer early is key to improving the odds of survival – we should not be in the situation where public health is falling behind pubs in the Scottish Government’s route map priorities.
"Scotland needs a fully-resourced plan to restart and prioritise cancer screening and treatment.
"We must be able to cope with the competing demands of the Covid-19 pandemic and non-Covid-related care in the months ahead, especially if there is a second wave."
In a letter Lennon, Scottish Government public health minister Joe FitzPatrick said 248,177 bowel screenings, 101,963 smear tests and 46,596 breast scans have been delayed since lockdown was imposed.
FitzPatrick said: "The cancer screening programmes that were paused on March 30 (breast, bowel and cervical) are now beginning to restart – safely, carefully and in a series of stages."
