Cancer cases on the rise, says group

EVERY half an hour someone somewhere in Ireland is diagnosed with cancer.

And the number of cases is set to rise over the next decade largely due to increasing longevity and the use of tobacco.

Currently, about 21,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed every year in Ireland.

That works out at 385 new cases every week and one new case every half an hour.

The disease now affects one in three Irish people during their lifetime, a fact that probably best explains why there is always such a huge and generous response to the Irish Cancer Society’s annual Daffodil Day.

The springtime fund-raiser, launched in Dublin yesterday, was first introduced by the society in 1988 and, over the last 16 years, has raised more than 20m.

Last year the society raised 2.7m from their Daffodil Day charity drive and is hoping that figure will be exceeded on Friday, March 21.

The society’s chief executive officer, John McCormack, pointed out that funds raised on Daffodil Day financed a wide variety of activities from specialist home care, day and night nursing to cancer nurse education, psychological support nurses and the cancer helpline.

Mr McCormack said that of the 2,000 people who died of cancer at home last year 900 were able to avail of the nursing services provided by the society.

More people were surviving cancer and the funds were also used to help them get on with their lives, he said.

Health Minister Micheál Martin, who also attended the launch, used the occasion to announce the extension of BreastCheck to counties Carlow, Wexford and Kilkenny.

Initially, 19,000 women in the 50 to 64 age bracket in the three counties will be invited for screening.

About 9,500 women will be invited for a free breast check every year once the programme is fully operational in the counties.

Mr Martin said that a number of key issues had been raised by health boards and health professionals in relation to the national rollout of BreastCheck that needed to be addressed in advance of further expansion.

“I am fully committed to the extension of the programme to the remaining counties in the west and south and will be meeting with BreastCheck shortly to discuss these issues,” he said.

Labour’s spokesperson on health, Liz McManus, said while the extension was to be welcomed it also confirmed that the minister had broken his solemn commitment to provide free nationwide breast screening by 2002.

“Hundreds of thousands of women at risk of breast cancer are now being asked to wait again,” she said.

Those wanting to support Daffodil Day can get more information by phoning CallSave 1850 606060.