This article is from page 4 of the 2006-07-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
WHILE Clare may have the least number of cancer sufferers in the country, the number of patients dying from breast cancer remains alarmingly high.
According to figures released last week by the National Cancer Register (NCR), Clare residents are 20 per cent less likely to develop cancer than the average Irish citizen.
In Dublin, which had the largest diagnosis of cancer in 2004, residents are 10 per cent more likely to be diagnosed.
Although a marked increase has been noted in the number of people, mostly women, being diagnosed in Dublin with breast cancer since the introduction of Breast Check there in 2000, the percentage dying from the disease is less than in Clare.
In Clare, 16 of the 36 people diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 died – that is, 44.4 per cent of the new patients.
In Dublin, the number of fatalities was at 30 per cent.
Experts conclude that early diagnosis is vital when fighting this form of cancer.
Meanwhile, Clare’s low diagnosis of lung cancer relative to Dublin has been explained by an East-West divide relative to smoking.
According to the Office of Tobacco Control, last year there were twice as many smokers in Dublin than in the west. Smoking is associated with 95 per cent of all lung cancers.
In 2004, 32 people in Clare, or 32 people per 100,000 of the population, were diagnosed with the cancer, compared to 552 people, or 58 per 100,000, in Dublin.
In total, 281 people from Clare were diagnosed with cancer in 2004; 180 died from the disease.
Twenty-seven men were diagnosed with prostate cancer during the 12month period, 16 died from the disease, while 40 colorectal cases were recorded; 26 were fatal.
But the number of cancer cases in an area differs from year to year. In 1994, there was 37 new cases of lung cancer in Clare, 21 new cases in 1996, while 43 were diagnosed in 2002.
Allowing for such variations, however, the NCR discovered an eastwest difference in cancer risks, with a much higher risk in the east.
While much of this can be explained by lifestyle, smoking and screening, some of the variations remain unexplained.