Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Assembly

Get in touch

If you'd like to find out more about our priorities in Northern Ireland, please get in touch. We’re keen to work with MLAs to keep cancer on the agenda.
Email: NorthernIrelandPA@cancer.org.uk

If you're interested in making a donation to support research in Northern Ireland, call 0300 123 1022 or email supporter.services@cancer.org.uk
(please don’t send funds direct to our research centres).

 

 

In Northern Ireland

  • We spent around £1m in 2023/24.
  • Around 10,300 people are diagnosed with cancer each year.
  • Around 4,500 people die from cancer each year.
  • Cancer deaths have fallen by around 5 in 100 in the last 10 years.
  • Almost 6 in 10 (54.9%) of cancers with a known stage are diagnosed early.
  • Around 3 in 20 (14%) of adults smoke.
  • Around two-thirds (65%) of adults are overweight or obese.
  • A fifth (20.4%) of children are overweight or obese.
  • Almost 6 in 10 (57.85%) of people aged 60-74 have taken part in bowel screening.

 

In Northern Ireland around 10,300 people are diagnosed with cancer each year – more than 28 people every day – and around 4,600 people die from it. Since the early 1990’s cancer incidence rates in Northern Ireland have increased by 12% and this is set to continue with cancer incidence predicted to increase to more than 14,000 diagnoses a year by 2038-2040. Although cancer survival is improving, with 57% of patients surviving for five years or more, survival in Northern Ireland still lags behind other comparable countries around the world.

Each year Cancer Research UK spends around £2 million in Northern Ireland on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research. More progress is necessary as one in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime.

Health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. This means decisions for NI are made locally. We work closely with the Department of Health, Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland Cancer Network and Health and Social Care Trusts to help make cancer services the best they can be, and we engage with the Northern Ireland Executive and members of the NI Assembly to keep cancer high on the political agenda.

In Northern Ireland Cancer Research UK has:

 

  • 2022-2025: Developed and ran two mass media Be Cancer Aware programmes to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer and one further campaign to encourage more people in Northern Ireland to take part in screening programmes when invited. All three campaigns were run in partnership with the Public Health Agency. 
  • 2023: On- going and active participation in the Cancer Strategy Programme Board , including working on the development of a cancer research strategy for Northern Ireland
  • 2022: Significant participation in the development and roll out of the first two Rapid Diagnostic Centres (RDCs) in Northern Ireland. Based at Whiteabbey and South Tyrone Hospitals, they provide a much-needed vague symptom referral pathway. We continue to be an active member of the RDC strategic oversight group
  • 2020: Significant participation in the development of the new 10- year Cancer Strategy for Northern Ireland, working as part of the strategy’s core steering group, chairing the sub-group on cancer diagnosis and screening, and making sure cancer patients voices were heard. 
  • 2019: Influenced the decision by the Public Health Agency to change the test for bowel cancer screening programme to FIT and to change to the HPV test in for cervical screening.

Cancer Research UK welcomed the publication of a 10-year cancer strategy for Northern Ireland in spring 2022, which contains 60 ambitious recommendations with the aim of transforming cancer services in Northern Ireland. The strategy focuses on tackling inequalities and helping more people survive their disease by preventing more cases, diagnosing cancer earlier and improving patient care. While some important progress has been made over the decades to improve cancer outcomes, not enough progress has been made since the strategy was introduced. Despite the best efforts of health and social care staff, Northern Ireland is struggling to deliver the cancer services required. This is due to challenges created by long-term underfunding, long periods when the Northern Ireland Executive has not been functioning, plus the added impact of COVID-19 all creating significant strain on the health system. The resulting lack of reforms, together with the lack of adequate, sustainable and long-term investment, has had a significant negative impact,  highlighted by the stark cancer statistics reported above.

However, if there is urgent collaborative action across the Executive and health sector in the short term to ensure cancer patient safety, and the right longer-term solutions are prioritised, funded and implemented, people in Northern Ireland will live longer, better lives. This includes delivering more cancer research, better prevention, earlier diagnosis and quicker access to kinder, better treatment. This approach is crucial as cancer is Northern Ireland's biggest killer.

CRUK is calling for urgent action on three fronts:

  • Sustainable investment in the cancer workforce and equipment  to provide timely services in diagnostics and access to treatment.
  • A greater focus on implementing population – wide cancer prevention measures including publishing, funding and implementing new prevention strategies on tobacco, overweight and obesity and alcohol.
  • Cancer research and innovation must be prioritised by the Northern Ireland Executive to  tackle the growing and complex health challenges and reduce the significant pressures on individuals, society, the health service and the economy.

We participated in the steering groups to set up Rapid Diagnostic Centres (RDCs), initially designed to speed up diagnosis for patients with vague but worrying symptoms. We will contribute to the next phase of RDCs, applying similar programme design to the diagnosis of specific cancer types where the need is greatest.

The research environment in Northern Ireland is experiencing financial and policy challenges. Basic researchers are struggling to compete for funding from the UK and EU sources. Additionally, workforce shortages and infrastructure issues in Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts are impacting on the clinical research opportunities available to patients. Despite this, there are examples where, through supporting areas of research strength, researchers are successfully attracting major funding. It is crucial that those involved in research continue to refine this focus, drawing on potential collaborations between universities, the HSC and Northern Ireland’s life science industry, to create world leading areas of excellence.

Cancer Research UK recommends:

  • The Department of Health must progress action 55 of the cancer strategy: to develop a Cancer Research Strategy for Northern Ireland in partnership with key stakeholders, which puts research at the heart of HSC culture and practice.
  • The Department of Economy and the Department of Health must work together to enable Northern Ireland’s universities, industry, the HSC and the third sector work collaboratively to create a competitive and successful research environment.
 
Cancer Clinical Research in Northern Ireland - Full Report (February 2023)
Cancer Clinical Research in Northern Ireland - Executive Summary (February 2023)
Understanding the economic value of cancer research investment’ (June 2022)
Bench to Bedside: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Medical Research in Northern Ireland (April 2019) – Executive Summary
Bench to Bedside: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Medical Research in Northern Ireland (April 2019) – Full Report

CRUK in Northern Ireland

  • £2 million invested in cancer every year.
  • 17 CRUK shops across Northern Ireland.
  • 29 local fundraising groups and supporters raise around £470k every year.
  • CRUK EVENTS We raise around £600k every year through supporter events and corporate partners.