A report on cancer diagnoses and survival rates in Ireland has provided an interesting read.
The latest annual report by the National Cancer Registry, published today, has revealed that the number of cancer diagnoses in Ireland has risen significantly within the last year. Both aging and the country’s growing population are cited as the reasons for the rise, resulting in around 40,750 people being diagnosed with the disease annually.
Cancer is the second most common cause of death in Ireland after diseases of the circulatory system, and an annual average of about 8,770 deaths from invasive cancer occurred during the period 2012-2014.
Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death in both sexes in 2016/2017, accounting for 19% of cancer deaths in women and 23% in men. The risk of dying of cancer was about 34% higher for men than for women.
The report suggests an alarming rise in the incidence and death rates of melanoma in men and women, the most serious form of skin cancer, while there also exists a worrying increase in the numbers of women developing lung cancer as years of smoking catches up with them.
However, the odds of surviving the most common forms of cancer are greater than ever before, with a record of over 170,000 people alive today having been treated for the disease. That’s the equivalent of 3.6% of the population.
The lifetime risk of developing cancer is now one in three for men and one in four for women.
For invasive cancers, the five-year survival rate is now 61% compared to 44% in the 90’s, a prognosis which is primarily down to improvements in treatments, earlier detection and the reorganization of hospital services nearly a decade ago.
The chance of survival after five years is now as high as 92% for men with prostate cancer, it stands at 81% for women with breast cancer, 63% for bowel cancer and 18% for lung cancer sufferers (a low figure, but double what it was in the 1990’s).
Pancreatic cancer remains the most ruthless form, with survival rates remaining at less than 10%.
Donal Buggy, head of Services and Advocacy at the Irish Cancer Society, said it is “hugely welcome to see that more people are surviving cancer, but the number of people in Ireland being diagnosed with the disease continues to rise. As such, we are facing a cancer epidemic.”
“If our health system is not properly equipped to deal with this, our ability to deliver the best outcomes for patients will diminish.”
Here's an Irish Cancer Society video breakdown of the report.
