Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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715. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons diagnosed with cancer by HSE region each month since January 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17083/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The National Cancer Registry Ireland (NCRI) is responsible for collecting data on the incidence of cancers. While the NCRI produces reports on the incidence of cancer by HSE region, this operates a number of years in arrears as diagnoses need to be validated to assure completeness and accuracy. The most recent complete figures show a total of 21,459 cancer cases diagnosed in 2015.

The NCRI Annual Report (2019) estimates that, on average, 23,890 cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) are diagnosed in Ireland each year. This number is expected to increase in the coming years due to our increasing and ageing population.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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716. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons receiving chemotherapy each month between January 2019 and June 2020, in tabular form. [17084/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The HSE's National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) collects data on the number of patients receiving new Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment (Chemotherapy) in the day ward setting in public hospitals. Data is currently available up to April 2020 as follows:

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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717. To ask the Minister for Health the number of cancer patients finishing active treatment each month since January 2019, in tabular form. [17085/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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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.