Dr. Triona McCarthy:

I might respond on the increasing incidence or numbers of cancer cases you might see in a locality. We would often describe it as what looks like a perceived cancer cluster, where a number of people are diagnosed. The first thing to say is that cancer is, unfortunately, a very common condition and one in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime. Sometimes it is just the ageing within a particular community, where people have settled in an area at a particular time. We have talked about the ageing of our population. There are modifiable and nonmodifiable risks for cancer. One of the most obvious nonmodifiable ones is age. Almost all cancers will increase with age. We have seen in our population how we have had such an increase in the number of people over 65. That is a driver. That said, there are other modifiable, preventable causes of cancer that are really important to focus on.

In terms of what we can do about cancer risk, a lot of those things are called out in the cancer strategy. Between 30% and 50% of cancers are preventable, so we are looking at alcohol, tobacco use, weight and physical activity. It is very important that communities understand there are things they can do to reduce their risk. Infections are a cause of cancer, so taking vaccinations matters, as does screening to catch cancer early or identify and treat things that are precursors for cancer. It is important not to be too fatalistic about the increasing number of people with cancer and instead look at the positives around the many things we can do to reduce our cancer risk. Accessing the health service is part of that, as is empowering communities to avail of preventative measures and, at a government level, having good public policy that reduces people's exposure to risk factors.