About the Irish Cancer Society

What we do

We are a community determined to help anyone affected by cancer in Ireland

We listen to patients and their loved ones and we support them by providing free information and care. We fund cancer research to find better treatments that will save more lives. We work to keep cancer on the Government’s agenda, to make sure the Irish healthcare system functions as well as possible to help cancer patients and their loved ones through their diagnosis.

Providing free cancer information and support

In 2020 alone, an estimated 44,000 people received a cancer diagnosis in Ireland. That’s 120 people every day hearing the words “you have cancer” throughout the country. That’s 5 people every hour hearing the words “you have cancer” throughout the country. As a result, there is an enormous need for support and information for patients and their loved ones in every community in the country.

The Irish Cancer Society is there to provide support at every point along the way:

Cancer Nurses provide free information and advice for patients and their loved ones through the Support Line on Freephone 1800 200 700, online, and in-person at our Daffodil Centres in hospitals across Ireland.
We offer emotional support for patients and the loved ones of patients who are finding it hard to deal with a cancer diagnosis. Through our Survivor Support Programme, newly diagnosed cancer patients are connected to cancer survivor volunteers who provide one-to-one support in person or over the phone. We also fund free counselling for people affected by cancer in communities across the country.
For patients undergoing treatment, we provide help getting to and from treatments in hospital through our Volunteer Driver Service and Financial Aid programme.
Night Nurses provide in-home, end of life care for patients who are not going to survive their diagnosis so that the patient can spend their remaining days in the comfort of their homes, surrounded by their loved ones.
We produce and maintain free information on all types of cancer through www.cancer.ie and our cancer leaflets and booklets available for free on our website and in medical offices across Ireland.

Read more about the services we provide

Working to ensure more cancers are caught early

To achieve this we lead advocacy campaigns, innovate services, fund research, and work in partnerships that will eliminate the survival gap between Ireland and other European countries. We are working to give people the best chance of surviving cancer.

Cancer awareness and prevention

Funding life-changing cancer research

The Irish Cancer Society currently funds over 120 cancer researchers across Ireland working to development new and better treatments for many different types of cancer.

In 1997 4 in 10 Irish cancer patients were alive 5 years after their diagnosis. Today, that figure is 6 in 10, thanks in large part to huge strides in cancer research.

Since 2010, the Irish Cancer Society has invested over €30 million into hundreds of innovative research projects. These projects have contributed enormously to our understanding of cancer, how it develops and how to treat different forms of cancer.

Our research has led to hundreds of discoveries. Each of these new findings have been published in international peer reviewed journals, making this knowledge available to researchers worldwide.

Data from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland, coupled with a growing population, means that this year around 440,000 people in Ireland are expected to be diagnosed with cancer.

Research into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer is a must to help fight this disease. Research also helps identify the causes of cancer and is pointing the way to improved methods of diagnosis and treatment.