There has been a rise in the number of Irish people getting cancer- however survival rates have improved significantly in the last 20 years.
That’s according to the latest figures from the National Cancer Registry.
It shows there are more than 30,000 cases of the disease in Ireland every year.
However, survival rates are up from 72% to 81% for breast cancer and from 69% to 91% for prostate cancer.
The report looked at the number of people who were diagnosed, treated and died from all forms of cancer between 1994 and 2012, particularly focusing on 2010 – 2012.
It stated that lung cancer was by far the single most common cause of cancer death during the two years – approximately 1,800 people died annually.
However, the rate is falling in men while women have a far greater chance of dying from lung cancer – the research found that lung cancer deaths for women in Ireland are 34% higher than the EU average.
National Cancer Registry director Dr Harry Comber said women who didn’t give up cigarettes in the 1980s are now dying:
"Men started to cut back on smoking in the ’80s, but the reduction in women didn’t occur until the 1990s and that’s reflected in the figures."
Source: Cliodhna Russell, thejournal.ie, 18/12/14