Half of lung cancer patients diagnosed too late for help
National Cancer Control Director Professor Tom Keane at a breast cancer conference yesterday
Monday September 29 2008
HALF of lung cancer patients are getting no treatment because many are diagnosed too late for doctors to help, cancer tsar Professor Tom Keane has admitted.
National Director of Cancer Control Prof Keane acknowledged the figures were "shocking" and must change.
He also warned Ireland's survival rates for all forms of cancer remain about 10pc behind those of the top performing countries and this amounts to a "huge difference".
Many of the 1,800 lung cancer patients diagnosed each year are presenting when it is very advanced and doctors can no longer help them.
Priority
He said: "50 per cent of men and women in Ireland who get lung cancer get no treatment whatsoever. It is so advanced at presentation many patients don't even get an expert opinion.That is something we intend to change and lung cancer is a major priority for next year."
Prof Keane made his comments at a weekend conference on breast cancer, following harrowing stories from women who were the victims of misdiagnosis.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in Ireland -- it kills 1,600 annually, twice as many breast cancer patients.
Prof Keane, who was speaking at the Europa Donna conference in Dublin, told the gathering that the transfer of all breast cancer services from smaller hospitals to the eight specialist centres is at an advanced stage.
However, he was still not receiving co-operation from Sligo General where staff and the local community are resisting the transfer of their breast cancer unit to Galway. He wanted the Sligo services to be transferred to Galway by March of next year, he stressed.
Commenting on the resourcing of the eight specialist breast cancer centres, he said €8m was needed to build up staff numbers -- including the recruitment of 10 breast cancer specialists and other consultants with expertise in areas like histopathology.
Around one-third of medical staff who had been involved in breast cancer care in the smaller hospitals are also transferring to the specialist centres. There will be five breast cancer surgeons in a hospital such as Beaumont in Dublin.
The diagnosis, decision making and surgery for breast cancer patients will transfer to the eight specialist centres; but follow up care will continue to be available to people locally, he added.
"People are hugely concerned about the winding up of cancer services in their area but nothing could be further from the truth. In all of these settings there will be a local follow-up service. For instance two surgeons from Drogheda will will transfer half their time to Beaumont Hospital but will maintain clinical follow-up in Drogheda."
Anxiety
Prof Keane accused the media of adding to anxiety and said his greatest challenge was "restoration of confidence".
He insisted the media needed to be educated on cancer care in Ireland -- but although several television and print journalists spent over an hour waiting to talk to him he declined to give an interview and left the hotel, where the conference was held, by a side exit.
Earlier, in a question and answer session with the audience, he said said he was concerned that some family doctors were referring women on for mammograms -- breast x-rays only -- which were not backed up by triple assessment which reduced the chances of cancer being missed.
He was asked whether Breastcheck, currently available to women aged 50-64 years, should also include those in the forties. He said this is under review and any decision will have to be based on the best evidence. Breastcheck confirmed its next priority would be extending it to older rather than younger women.
- Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent
