World Cancer Day: Time to face up to cancer and its impacts

Ahead of World Cancer Day on February 4, two women describe their experience of being diagnosed and treated for the disease and the impact it's had on their lives 

Edita Hyland has been diagnosed with cancer three times - she has the BRCA gene. Photographed at her home in Ballinlough, County Meath. Photo: Barry Cronin

Ireland has the third highest rate of cancer in the world, and it is estimated that one in three of us will develop it at some point in our lifetime with around 42,000 people diagnosed with the disease each year.

These are frightening statistics, but, reassuringly, more than 215,000 people are living with and beyond cancer today in Ireland.