Johnny Guirke
Ceist:717. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Health the number of cancer patients finishing active treatment each month since January 2019, in tabular form. [17085/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 21 July 2020
Ceisteanna (717)
Freagraí scríofa
The National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 recognises the needs of cancer patients across their cancer journey. Under the Strategy, cancer survivorship begins at the time of diagnosis and continues until end of life. The National Cancer Registry Ireland (NCRI) estimated that there were 173,000 cancer survivors in Ireland in 2016. The total survivors is expected to continue to grow due to our increasing and ageing population, and to improvements in patient outcomes. Net five-year survivorship for all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) increased from 42% (1994-1999) to 62% (2011-2015), with five-year survivorship for many cancers now above 80%. It is expected that this trend will continue.
Neither the HSE's National Cancer Control Programme nor the NCRI collect information on the number of cancer patients who finish active treatment. This is as many cancer survivors require life-long, evidenced-based health care, whether preventive, general medical, psychosocial or care specific to their cancer diagnosis, meaning that their care can continue long after their primary treatment.