On World Ovarian Cancer Day 2021 and in the midst of a global pandemic, Ireland’s foremost Ovarian Cancer Campaigners, Researchers, and Patient Advocates are advising women across Ireland not to ignore the warning signs of Ovarian Cancer, a disease commonly known as the ‘silent killer’. As part of the activity, on world ovarian cancer day the organizers hosted a free webinar for the public and health care professionals. Titled: “Ovarian Cancer; PARP inhibitors and beyond” it featured talks by Dr. Dearbhaile Collins Medical Oncologist, Anne Herlihy an ovarian cancer patient followed by a Q& ..read more

Few interventions in human history have saved more lives than vaccines. After clean water, no medicine nor treatment has had more impact on societal health or mortality rates. The advent of modern immunology has banished infectious diseases that once were a scourge to humankind to often just a bad memory, from smallpox to measles. Vaccination can even prevent an entire family of devastating cancers, and all their attendant human misery. Yet despite this, there is trepidation, misunderstanding, and outright disinformation on the subject which confounds public understanding. And as discussion o ..read more

3D rendered Illustration of T-Cells of the immune System attacking growing Cancer cells. The immune system is the body’s defence mechanism to protect itself from harm. This harm can come from outside the body in the form of bacteria and viruses, and from inside the body, when cells, mutate or change to become cancerous. Our immune system is very complex and it is made up of many different types of cells, all of which work in different ways to protect the body. An example of one type of immune cell, is the cytotoxic T cell (aka T lymphocytes), which acts to protect the body by producing a chemi ..read more

Sleep is essential for both our physical and mental health. World Sleep Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of sleep for people with cancer, and beyond into survivorship. People differ in their need for sleep, but the recommendation is for at least 7 hours of sleep every 24 hours.1 Getting good quality sleep is also essential for wellbeing. Many people experience difficulty getting enough good-quality sleep. One of the most common sleep disturbances is insomnia. Insomnia is the inability to get to sleep or to stay asleep lasting for at least one month and resulting in clinically significa ..read more

Prevention is better than cure and vaccines are the medical example of this statement. In the centuries since their introduction, they have saved millions of lives. Most recently we have seen their remarkable impact on the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing deaths and complications. When we think of vaccines, we usually think about infectious disease, for example, childhood measles or the yearly flu. But vaccines, which stimulate our own immune system to fight disease, have a major role to play in cancer prevention too and it is important understand precisely why. The reason for this, is that some ..read more

People often think it is a hot sun that causes skin cancer but in fact, it is the ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun that is responsible for skin cancers. When the UV index is 3 or above we need to protect our skin. In Ireland, the UV index is usually 3 or above from April to September, so we need to get into the habit of protecting our skin even on a cooler, cloudy day. Skin cancer is the most common and fastest-growing cancer in Ireland with over 11,000 cases each year, yet by adopting the SunSmart 5’s the majority of skin cancers caused by UV exposure could be prevented. As well as t ..read more

How we can reduce our cancer risk through simple lifestyle changes Cancer seems a terrifyingly random disease – an ominous, senseless illness that seems to strike without rhyme nor reason. But while there is a truly random element to cancer, there is an enduring misconception we are powerless to insulate against it. This is however a misconception – the reality is that many cancers are linked to our lifestyle, which means we have more control than we might think over most of the most serious cancers. While we cannot foresee the future, we can take proactive steps to give ourselves the best odd ..read more

On XM Day 2022 Breakthrough will be focusing on 5 of the risk reduction steps in partnership with Qualtrics employees to commit to taking positive steps to reduce our cancer risk and encourage others to do the same. The five steps highlighted – Quit Smoking, Skin Protection, Physical Activity, Eating For Health, Reduce Alcohol.  See below for more information and resources.                   Your Step: QUIT SMOKING Smoking Cessation Supports – Quitlines Ireland: https://www2.hse.ie/quit-smoking/ UK: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/n ..read more

Ahead of International human papillomavirus (HPV) Awareness Day, 4th March 2021, Dr Frances Drummond, Research Officer, Breakthrough Cancer Research, speaks to Dr Mairead O’Connor, a Research Fellow in University College Cork about her research as part of CERVIVA – the Irish Cervical Screening Research Consortium.  CERVIVA (www.cerviva.ie)  is a highly successful health service research consortium, which has been working together for more than a decade in the area of cervical screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. It also focuses on other cancers linked to HPV. &nbs ..read more

*This OpEd featured in the Irish Examiner on World Cancer Day 2021 and is reprinted with permission. As a cancer doctor, the ability to connect and relate to a patient is dependent on regular face-to-face encounters. It allows us to meet, talk and see how a person is feeling. This exchange of body language and eye contact was a routine part of our work for every patient up until less than 12 months ago. We now have fewer opportunities for these crucial, but sometimes intangible moments as we often need to assess patients over the telephone or even need to defer appointments. This is just one ..read more