Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

We have talked briefly about lung cancer screening, but it is a particular area of interest of mine. Some 25% of lung cancers are diagnosed in emergency departments. Is that a similar figure globally or is it quite specific to Ireland? In the case of a very loved family member of mine, while being prepped for surgery, having been in hospital for five weeks, there was a diagnosis. It seems to be a cancer that is sometimes caught by accident, which is distressing in and of itself. It is probably not the best way for someone to find out he or she has lung cancer, in particular when it is at a later stage such as stage 3 or 4.

The witnesses mentioned a pilot programme. The UK is rolling out a screening programme. It found that screening people at high risk of lung cancer saved lives from disease and that the benefits outweigh the harms. The pilot programme in the NHS will be along the lines of lung health, which will include screening for lung cancer. Do the witnesses envisage that we will, depending on the pilot programme or otherwise, go down the route of rolling out a lung cancer screening programme for people aged between 55 and 74 years who are smokers or are otherwise high-risk? There are similar programmes internationally. Is there an appetite for us to go down that road? We have to wait until the pilot programme in the UK is rolled out. International evidence seems to show that this is a reasonable cancer to screen for and that we should move towards a screening element.