Call for more cancer awareness

The report highlights why cancer remains a major public health issue and the leading cause of death in Northern Ireland. It calls for legislative changes and a range of measures to be implemented with support from the statutory, voluntary, public and private sectors.

The APGC is made up of 18 MLAs and aims to reduce the impact of cancer on the local community. The APGC heard evidence on a range of issues from patients, clinicians and researchers from the voluntary, statutory and public sectors.  The Group’s Report makes recommendations on access to cancer drugs in Northern Ireland, the impact of welfare reform, policies to control tobacco and alcohol, inequalities in men’s health and the role of primary health care in cancer prevention.  

The Group calls on the NI Executive to provide leadership and financial support to improve both population health and cancer services. Among the APGC’s  recommendations are:

• Standardise packaging for tobacco and prohibiting smoking in private vehicles 

• Implement changes in relation to alcohol pricing, health warnings and advertising 

• Ensure training and support is available for practice nurses and GPs to deliver advice and information on cancer prevention messages in primary care settings 

• DHSSPS and the Executive to work in partnership with the voluntary, statutory, private and public sectors to develop a strategy to improve men’s health and lower cancer incidence and mortality rates 

• Take steps to ensure equity of access to cancer drugs in line with the rest of the UK 

• Ensure that cancer patients are signposted to welfare advice as a routine part of their treatment 

APGC Chairman Tom Buchanan MLA said: “Cancer is a disease which has left its mark on many families throughout Northern Ireland and is a major issue for the Health Service.  

“Around 245 people each week receive the dreaded news that they have been diagnosed with cancer and on average it claims the lives of 4,000 people each year. While survival rates are increasing through intensive research and improved treatments, much more needs to be done to help and support people living with this long term illness.”   

Vice Chair Cathal Ó hOisín MLA said: “Our lifestyle is an important factor in the prevention of cancer and while we cannot change our genetic makeup, we can take steps to lower the risk of cancer by following a healthy lifestyle. 

“The APGC has already been instrumental in using its influence to improve services and will continue to raise awareness through public, professional and political avenues to help improve cancer services and develop policies to reduce the impact of cancer on our communities.” 

Roisin Foster, Chief Executive of Cancer Focus, which holds the secretariat for the Group, said: “Cancer Focus’s mission is to decrease the burden that cancer imposes on our society, and the financial burden on our health service and on our economy, but above all the burden of ill-health and loss placed on individuals and their families.

“One of the approaches we take to our work is to raise public awareness of cancer - how we can lower the incidence of cancer and how we can best support people living with the disease. Central to this is effective public health policy and a commitment to continuous improvement in the range of treatment and services available to women, men and children with cancer in Northern Ireland.

“Tackling cancer is an All Party issue, transcending party political agendas. While there is clear evidence that links cancer to social deprivation, everyone in the community will have been affected by cancer. Over 70,000 people in Northern Ireland are living with a cancer diagnosis and one in three will have the disease at some point in their lifetime.

“We trust that our leaders will study the findings in this paper and endorse the recommendations so that fewer people are diagnosed with cancer, that those who are have ever improving outcomes, and that there are the support services to help them deal with the impact of the disease.”

The report reveals that: 

• Standardised packaging and legislation prohibiting smoking in private vehicles would be major steps towards reducing the impact of tobacco

• Alcohol consumption causes 4% of all cancers

• It is vital that primary care settings are supported in the delivery of cancer prevention messages 

• Men are at a significantly higher risk of developing and dying from nearly all of the common cancers

• 22 cancer drugs available to patients in the rest of the UK are only available in exceptional circumstances in NI

• People living with cancer are subjected to numerous financial pressures with many unable to continue in employment as a result of their illness 

If you have any concerns about cancer please call the free Cancer Focus Helpline on 0800 783 3339 and speak to a nurse.

                     -  Ends –

Notes

Cancer remains a major public health issue with approximately 12,700 local people diagnosed each year.  It results in 4,047 deaths annually making it the leading cause of death in NI.

The APGC was established informally in 2000 by Cancer Focus Northern Ireland and became a formal Assembly group in 2009.  The secretariat is provided by Cancer Focus.  

The group aims to:

•         Encourage debate and update members on a range of issues, new data, trends and concerns relating to cancer

•         Provide new perspectives and innovative thinking on current policy and strategies

•         Find solutions and develop policies to reduce the impact of cancer on our community

The APGC heard from a range of patients, clinicians, researchers and policy developers from the voluntary, statutory and public sectors. These stakeholders have engaged with MLAs to drive forward the agenda on cancer on many fronts.

Group Members

Thomas Buchanan, DUP
Cathal Ó hOisín, Sinn Fein
Judith Cochrane, Alliance
David McClarty, Independent
Mark H Durkan, SDLP
Kieran McCarthy, Alliance
Pam Brown, DUP
Patsy McGlone, SDLP
Paul Girvan, DUP
Brenda Hale, DUP
Michael Copeland, UUP
Chris Lyttle, Alliance
Gordon Dunne, DUP
Sammy Douglas, DUP
Danny Kinahan, UUP