SDLP Spokesperson Annie Courtney has welcomed the findings of a report published on Tuesday September 4 that notes there has been a steep fall in the numbers of Northern Ireland men dying from cancer.

The report compiled by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry at Queen’s University showed that the rate of new cases is falling by 72 per year. However a similar study of women showed a less rapid death rate.

Ms Courtney said: “While the fall in new cases may demonstrate that public awareness campaigns and education programmes are working, there is clearly still a need to highlight the importance of education about early detection of diseases and prevention of cancer.”

Researchers studied survival rates among patients aged 15-99 diagnosed with malignant cancer from 1993 to 1996 and followed up until 1999.

They found that the reduction was due in part to a decrease in lung cancer rates among the male population, with the number of reported deaths falling by 51 per cent.

However, a similar study of women showed that females are more likely to survive the disease than males, with 66 per cent of women surviving during one year, compared to 58 per cent of males. (CD)