More than 800 cancer survivors are gathering in Dublin over the next two days for the National Conference for Cancer Survivorship.
Organised by the Irish Cancer Society the conference is focused on living well with cancer.
Over 60 per cent of people in Ireland are now surviving cancer for five years or longer.
The survival rates for those diagnosed with cancer in Ireland have greatly improved in recent years: Between 1994 and 1999, five year survival rates in Irish females were 52 per cent compared to 61.5 per cent between 2005 and 2009. Increases in male survival rates have been even larger with five year survival at 42 per cent from 1994 to 1999 compared to 60 per cent between 2005 and 2009.
The Irish Cancer Society National Conference for Cancer Survivorship features practical information on treatment advances, dealing with fatigue, exercise and diet as well as looking at the emotional and psychological effects of cancer. There are also separate tracks for healthcare professionals and affiliated cancer support groups from around the country.
This is the first time the Society has held a Survivorship Conference of this size, bringing together it smaller survivorship events to mark the Society’s 50th year. Survivors of all types of cancers from all over Ireland were today attending this landmark event.
Nicola Elmer is one of the survivors attending the conference - here's her story:
