Professor M. John Kennedy:

I think cancer is a disease of ageing because, as we accumulate all the passive smoke, the pollution, the things we eat and so on over decades, ultimately, we will probably develop a cancer at some point. Wonderfully, life expectancy in Ireland is increasing all the time. People are living longer and longer. It was rare to see a patient over 80 when I was starting this journey 35 or 40 years ago, and now we have large numbers of patients in their 90s. I personally believe that as long as we live in the environment we live in and live long enough, we will probably get cancers. It does not mean we cannot cure them, though. It is unlikely we will see a situation where we will not see cancer, but we could get to a point where very much the majority of patients are cured.