- By 2020, 1 in 2 people in Ireland will develop cancer during their lifetime. It is predicted that Ireland could potentially see a doubling in the incidence of cancer by 2045.
- In Ireland almost 45,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year. This means that one person is diagnosed with cancer every 3 minutes.
- Cancer has overtaken heart disease as the most common cause of death in Ireland.
- Non-melanoma skin cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer are the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Ireland.
- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both sexes, accounting for 19% of cancer deaths in women and 23% in men. Colorectal cancer is the next most common cause of cancer death after lung cancer.
- The number of people surviving cancer is likely to reach 200,000 by the end of this year
- The total number of cancers diagnosed has increased by 85 per cent since the mid-1990s, this is largely due to population growth and ageing.
- Due to effective and efficient improvements in cancer treatment and earlier detection, (e.g national screening programmes), the likelihood of surviving many forms of cancer continues to increase.
- Long-term survival from cancer has greatly increased in the past twenty years – Overall, Ireland is making good progress in terms of survival improvements for all cancers included, but still has some way to go to match the best-performing countries.
All data sourced from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) (www.ncri.ie) and the Central Statistics Office (www.cso.ie)
Cancer prevention
4 in 10 cancers can be prevented through lifestyle changes. Find out how you can reduce your cancer risk on our Your Health: Your Choice page.
Cancer services
The Marie Keating offers a number of free cancer services to both men and women.
There are also cancer support centres and services available all over Ireland. You can find a list of these services here.
Some companies offer products and services that will be of interest to people affected by cancer.
Donate to Marie Keating
We hope you found this information useful. The Marie Keating Foundation offers all of our services for free. Help support people at every step of a cancer journey by making a donation today.
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