Cancer strategy - National plan too short on specifics

A CYNIC might describe the Government’s ban on the commercial use of sunbeds by those under 16 as a headline-grabbing publicity stunt to deflect criticism from the glaring inadequacies of cancer services in Ireland.

Admittedly, it would be wrong to minimise the cancer threat of sunbeds to children, especially the young girls who use them, invariably under peer pressure, to get a tan for that special occasion such as First Communion.

Though ultraviolet light increases the risk of skin cancer, that does not deter fashion conscious youngsters from using sunbeds. As Health Minister Mary Harney warned yesterday, as the Second National Cancer Strategy was published, people with sunbeds at home should not allow children to use them. The Tánaiste conceded, however, that cancer services in Ireland were extremely fragmented compared with services in other countries.

From Waterford to Donegal, her words will be echoed in the regions where cancer victims have been shamefully treated by the Government. Frustrated lobbyists in the South East have despaired of securing adequate facilities under the Health Service Executive (HSE), and are now turning to private enterprise. That is a damning indictment.

Because well-equipped and adequately staffed services are available in Dublin, long-suffering cancer victims from rural Ireland have to spend their time and money travelling to and from the capital for treatment — a journey that can often be a severe physical trial for a cancer patient, isolating them from family and friends.

The much-vaunted Breastcheck scheme, meanwhile, has yet to be rolled out in the South or the West — and lives are being lost because of this delay. Cervical cancer screening is still confined to the Mid-West where it was introduced as a national pilot programme six years ago.

Thousands of people in Donegal have taken to the streets in protest, while clinicians at Letterkenny general hospital have withdrawn their services because of the HSE’s failure to provide a permanent surgeon there.

Compounding these problems, the inequities of the cancer crisis are exacerbated by the lack of a comprehensive transport policy, available for patients in some areas but not in others. Up and down the country, people have been forced to raise funds for equipment that should be provided by the State.

With a general election looming next year, the deficiencies of Ireland’s patchwork approach to the cancer crisis will be a major issue on the doorstep. Doubtless, the new programme will be offered by Fianna Fáil and PD candidates as proof of Government commitment to tackle the issue.

Worryingly, the cancer scenario will only get worse according to statistics from the National Patient Treatment Register — showing the number of patients will double from 22,000 today, to 44,000 by 2020. As the population ages, the statistics will rise, as the majority of cancers occur in people over 65.

According to the HSE, a national cancer control programme will pave the way for the new national cancer strategy, based on four regions served by eight major cancer centres. Inevitably, the news that breast and cervical screening are to be combined and rolled out nationally will mean further delays.

Clearly, the document unveiled yesterday is advisory rather than policy-based. It lacks costings. And there is no time frame for implementation.

Nor is it clear where the eight proposed cancer centres will be. This is a long way from the optimistic picture painted by HSE boss Professor Brendan Drumm who said the executive now had an unprecedented opportunity to ‘build a truly world-class cancer control service’. People in outlying regions can be forgiven for being sceptical about a cancer plan that is aspirational, long on promises and woefully short on specifics.