Silent killer lurking in our midst

THE public will be alarmed to learn that 2,500 cases of lung cancer are diagnosed annually and 724 of these were in Dublin in 2015.

It’s an extraordinarily high number for a country with our population size.

Also worrying is so few people are unaware of the warning signs of the disease.

As part of Lung Cancer Awareness Month the Irish Cancer Society is appealing to the public to access its online health checker.

While there has been a worrying drop in awareness of the symptoms there is also much good news when it comes to the treatment.

In recent years there have been huge advances in the treatment of cancer which has resulted in many better survival rates.

As always, early detection is imperative as the sooner the condition, especially lung cancer, is treated the better the outcome.

While everyone is encouraged to self-check and seek medical attention if in doubt the public should not lead to undue stress and worry.

Recent figures show that new medicines and treatments can make a massive difference to survival rates and quality of life of those with the condition and these can only improve as the research continues.

The Cancer Society’s online lung health checker can be accessed on www.cancer.ie/ lung/checker.