Centralisation of cancer care absolutely vital, say experts

THE Government is continuing to push the line on having eight designated cancer treatment centres while its members are cutting ribbons at new private facilities all over the country, a top cancer specialist has claimed.

Professor John Crown, a consultant oncologist at St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, said he found the development “very troubling”.

Prof Crown said he now had serious concerns about the future of the country’s cancer treatment service.

“Ireland will not have a high-quality cancer treatment system until there is a proper single-tier system with scope for appropriate medical leadership to guide it,” he warned.

“When I first came back to Ireland in 1993 I saw many, many cases of fundamentally mismanaged cancers, often done by people doing the very best they could while working in very desperate circumstances — overworked people who did not have the appropriate training, facilities, back-up and multidisciplinary care. There is less excuse for that nowadays.”

Asked about the latest breast cancer misdiagnosis, Prof Crown said he understood why people would be concerned. “The reality is that, in general, in Ireland the quality of diagnostic services has improved dramatically.

“My honest, heartfelt recommendation is that anyone concerned about a cancer diagnosis should make sure that they are being seen in a place that sees a large number of breast cancer patients and where there is appropriate triple assessment by clinicians, pathologists and radiologists,” he said.

The professor also said it was not unreasonable for patients to ask their doctor about the level of quality control in an institution and how many breast cancers were treated there.

Meanwhile a leading cancer campaigner from British Columbia that has some of the highest success rates with breast cancer treatment has warned that breast cancer diagnosis and treatment controversies would persist as long as women continued to be treated in non-specialist centres.

Judy Caldwell, founder of the Canadian Breast Cancer Campaign, also said that politicians who oppose centralisation of cancer treatment should face the wrath of voters in the next election.

Speaking in advance of the Europa Donna conference in Dublin this weekend on surviving breast cancer, Ms Caldwell said the continuing controversy of another misdiagnosis further highlighted the urgent need for the public to understand the importance of attending designated specialist breast cancer treatment centres.

Ms Caldwell also said families of those who have been affected by breast cancer needed to make their voices heard in elections. “Irish women need to back centralised cancer services. Centres with research and all services attached increase your chances of successful treatment and of continuing to live by around 20%,” she said.

The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) pointed out that Ennis General Hospital was one of 14 hospitals written to by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in September 2007 and asked to cease providing any breast cancer diagnostic and treatment services, which, unfortunately was too late for both Anne Moriarty and Edel Kelly.

The society said diagnostic and initial treatment services in 12 other hospitals across the country were currently being transferred to eight designated centres and it has been given an assurance by the HSE that this plan will be completed by the end of March next year.

Patient advocate, Rebecca O’Malley, who went public after being wrongly given the all-clear for breast cancer, said the death of the young mother who had been given the all clear for breast cancer lent weight to the necessity for independent investigations.