THE Minister for Health has announced a wide-ranging "national cancer strategy" involving a regional cancer service, a large increase in the number of consultants and other specialists, national breast and cervical cancer screening programmes, and new chemotherapy guidelines.
Mr Noonan said at a press conference in Dublin yesterday that the rate of deaths due to cancer - 7,500 at year - was higher than the EU average. After heart disease, cancer was the country's biggest killer illness among under-65s.
He said tackling cancer was his top priority as Minister, and a major objective of the Government's 1994-2004 health strategy was to reduce cancer deaths by 15 per cent.
The three-year programme announced yesterday will run from 1997 to 1999 and will cost £22 million, £6 million of which will be spent next year.
Mr Noonan outlined his immediate priorities as the setting up of regional cancer services in the eight health-board areas, each headed by a consultant responsible for co-ordinating all services and developing a cancer plan for his or her region.
These people are likely to already be practising cancer specialists, who would be appointed regional director on a part-time basis, with full administrative and back-up facilities.
These regional services would feed into a National Cancer Forum, which would also have community and patient representation, to help co-ordinate services at a national level. Mr Noonan stressed his intention that "best practice" in cancer treatment should be available evenly throughout the country.
He said he wanted to end the practice where sick people had to travel to Dublin and Cork for an hour or so of treatment, and then had to stay overnight in bed-and-breakfast accommodation for another session the following day.
Where more expensive and specialised treatments are required, they will be provided by three supra-regional services based at existing hospitals in Dublin and Cork, and a new unit in Galway.
The Minister said "the shortage of specialist oncology services outside the Dublin area will be eliminated". This will mean the appointment of six new consultant medical oncologists, four new consultant haematologists, four new histopathologists (for the study of body tissues), and six new consultants in palliative care.
The cost of these consultants, plus accompanying medical teams of a registrar, house doctors and nurses, would be something over £600,000 per team, said Mr Noonan.
These appointments will lead to the doubling of the number of specialists in some areas of cancer treatment. For example, there are currently only four or five consultant medical oncologists.
Mr Noonan laid particular stress on palliative care for people suffering from terminal cancer.
A cancer research unit will also be established within the Health Research Board. The research done by this unit will be focused on the co-ordination of clinical trials rather than on science-based research alone.
. Cancer treatment Main Points will be structured around a regional service in each of the eight health board areas, headed by a cancer specialist as regional director.
. Three supra-regional services in Cork, Dublin and Galway will be set up to cater for more highly specialised treatments.
. A national cancer forum will be established to help co-ordinate services at national level.
. Additional consultants and staff will be appointed to eliminate the shortage of specialist cancer services outside the Dublin area. Targeted national programmes of screening for breast cancer and cervical cancer will be established.
. Specialist palliative care for the terminally ill will be developed, and more specialists will be appointed in this area.
. A Cancer Research Unit will be established within the Health Research Board.
. Guidelines on the safe administration of chemotherapy are published.