Our Commitment To Improve Survival

We know that research works. Fifty years ago, breast and prostate cancer survival rates were less than 50%. With research funding, they are now over 85%. Still today cancer survival rates are cruelly unequal with some cancers like pancreatic remaining less than 10% (Fig.1). In twenty years, our aim is to double the Irish survival rates for people with poor prognosis cancers – making Irish survival rates among the best in the world.

We remain committed to delivering new discoveries that will improve the quality of life and outcomes for patients and their families; improving early detection and treatment and supporting researchled innovations throughout the cancer journey. We are narrowing our focus to have even more impact. To do this there must be a significant investment in research over the next five years in the poorest prognosis cancers, prioritising oesophageal, pancreatic, lung, ovarian, stomach, liver and brain cancer research.

Wide-ranging fundraising activities by Breakthrough enables this investment in research.

We remain committed to significantly increasing our year-on-year funding to invest in research. Furthermore, we will work to achieve an increase in national and international funding for poor prognosis cancers.

Breakthrough Cancer Research will work tirelessly to make the poorest prognosis cancers a greater national priority. To make the case for increased investment in these research areas, and show how research spending will improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment, improving survival and quality of life for people with these cancers.

This research strategy lays out how, over the next five years, we will work with world leading researchers and with people affected by cancer to support innovative and patient-focused translational research which will make more survivors of cancer.

Fig.1 Cancer Survival Rates in Ireland

“OUR AIM IS TO DOUBLE IRISH SURVIVAL RATES FOR PEOPLE WITH POOR PROGNOSIS CANCERS”