Cancer treatment - Most at risk helped least

Poorer and marginalised groups in Irish society are suffering from cancer rates up to 70% higher than the rest of the population.

This stark difference was highlighted in Dublin yesterday at the annual Charles Cully Lecture, hosted by the Irish Cancer Society and the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

Men with poorer education in deprived areas have a 32% greater risk of lung cancer, while women in the same areas have a 66% greater risk of cervical cancer than women in the areas with the highest level of education. When it comes to treatment, those most in need are essentially allowed to fall through the cracks.

It seems that our health authorities are incapable of tackling these problems. Public servants in the HSE have actually been asking SVP for help by getting involved in funding educational psychological assessments, occupational therapy, and such things as the cleaning of houses, taxi fares, kitchen appliances, and rent arrears for people too sick to work.

This breathtaking admission of its own ineptitude is a blistering indictment of the HSE itself.