CASES OF pancreatic cancer look set to double in Ireland by 2020 – from fewer than 600 a year to 1,200 – primarily because of the rise in the incidence of obesity, an expert on the condition has claimed.
Dr Brian Bird, an oncologist who specialises in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, said yesterday that smoking and excess alcohol consumption also increased the likelihood of an individual developing pancreatic cancer.
“The link between smoking and lung cancer is well established but it is not generally appreciated that smoking also increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
“These may be some of the reasons why we are going to be looking at a doubling of pancreatic cancer cases in Ireland by 2020,” Dr Bird said.
He was speaking on the Gerry Ryan Showto discuss a seminar of experts on pancreatic cancer at the Southern Symposium on Foregut Cancers at University College Cork yesterday.
Dr Bird, who practises at the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork, said pancreatic cancer was an “orphan cancer” because not many people heard about it.
However, it is the fifth most common form of cancer death despite being only the 12th most common cancer.
He advised that members of the public adhere to a cancer prevention diet with the right mix of fruit and vegetables, abstain from smoking and keep their body weight within reasonable levels.
Members of the public who have been affected by pancreatic cancer are invited to come along to UCC at 2pm today and ask the world experts whatever questions they want. The forum is free and is taking place at Brookfield Health Sciences Complex.
Pancreatic cancer has received a great deal of publicity in recent weeks following the death of Hollywood actor Patrick Swayze.
Pancreatic cancer typically spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a major reason why it is a leading cause of cancer death.