Inadequate treatment is a killer

Thousands of concerned people will take to the street in Dublin today to highlight the fact that cancer is resulting in needless and preventable deaths because of inadequate equipment and facilities.

Under the umbrella of Cancer Care Alliance it will be the first time that families, interest groups, medical professionals and political parties will gather to demand that cancer care be made a priority.

The demand is that effective, timely, comprehensive and adequately funded care must be delivered at national and regional level. At the moment there are radiotherapy units in Cork and Dublin, and the further a patient lives from either centre, the greater the chance they will die.