Concern expressed over availability of cancer drugs

A senior medical consultant has expressed concerns about the availability of drugs for cancer patients.

It comes as the Irish Cancer Society seeks to raise money and awareness for the disease on Daffodil Day this Friday.

It is believed one in three Irish people could develop cancer in their lifetime but many people ignore the symptoms.

Dr Ray McDermott, an oncologist at St. Vincent's and Tallaght hospitals, said drug availability is becoming more of an issue due to financial problems.

"Now we're coming to a situation where - because of the economic situation - we're taking a long, hard look at whether these drugs are going to be available," he said.

"At the moment, some of them are not available to our patients - so that's something that we as oncologists have never faced before.

"Obviously, it's completely intertwined with the fact that these drugs are very expensive." he added.