Reilly: Govt prepared for predicted rise in cancer rates

The Health Minister James Reilly has said the Government is prepared for the predicted increase in cancer rates.

The Health Minister James Reilly has said the Government is prepared for the predicatd increase in cancer rates.

The World Cancer Research Fund has published a new study estimating that the number of people in Ireland who will be diagnosed with cancer is likely to increase by more than 70% within the next two decades.

This is the biggest predicted rise out of all of the 27 EU member states.

It is estimated more than 33,000 people in Ireland will have the disease by 2030.

Dr Reilly did admit that he expects the number of cancer cases to double over the next 30 years due to an ageing population.

However, he said he has every faith in the healthcare system to tackle the issue.

Dr Reilly said: "We are putting a number of initiatives in place around that.

"We have the National Cancer Screening programme which is working very well and they just launched an electronic referral system last week which ensures there is absolute clarity between the GP, the referral centre and the patient about the seriousness of their condition and the timeliness of their appointment."