'Don't let the word cancer get you down'

Sam Clarke says he feels lucky to have had an early diagnosis in his fight against cancer.

The 51-year-old was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2015 and has undergone a stem cell transplant.

He told the BBC that being "caught and signposted" at an early stage was critically important, but something that sadly he had not always seen with family and friends.

The latest Department of Health (DoH) statistics show fewer than a third - 29.8% - of patients began their cancer treatment within the recommended 62 days - well below the 95% target.

"Access is different for everyone," Sam said, who lives in Bangor, County Down.

"It depends on your age, where you are from, but that all needs to be addressed to give everyone a quick and even platform to be seen as quickly as possible.

"It is very hit and miss because the person you first need to see is the GP and potentially you might not see one for weeks or maybe for a month or two.

"There is also the referral and getting through the system because everyone is already working so hard dealing with other cancer patients."

The latest figures show a dramatic drop in the number of people starting treatment for breast cancer within the recommended target.

Between January and March, only 34.1% of patients requiring breast cancer treatment were seen within 14 days of their GP urgent referral.

For the same period in 2023 the figure was 84.2%.

The ministerial target states that all urgent breast cancer referrals should be seen within 14 days.

The latest cancer waiting times reveal that none of the targets set by the health minister have been met.

Sarah Christie, of Macmillan Cancer Support said she believed the system was on "the verge of collapsing."

"If we continue going down this route I think we’re in real trouble," she told Good Morning Ulster.

According to DoH, the figures should be treated with caution as Encompass - the new electronic patient record system - is still in development at the South Eastern Health Trust which has affected the data.

Sam said he was now half Welsh as his stem cell donor was from Wales and called on the public to sign up to the stem cell register.

"Don't let that word cancer drag you down, be positive and if you have that positive attitude those around you will be positive.

"Don't let it the word 'cancer' or 'sufferer' determine you, just be a fighter."

"His blood and his stem cells were grafted into me and make up my white blood cells, so my blood type ended up changing to his - it’s remarkable what happens but his donation has kept me alive," he said.

"So, it’s not just about chemo and radiotherapy, it is also about the public, opening up their minds to see what they can do to help those living with cancer."

West Belfast woman Maria Austin, 25, who is a classroom assistant, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in January.

She feels lucky to have been given time to freeze her eggs before starting chemotherapy in her fight against cancer.

"The egg freezing was crucial and so important because I am still young, I want to have a family when I am older," she said.

Maria said she is telling her story to highlight the importance of early cancer diagnosis and to help other young people cope with symptoms she describes as "life changing".

For Maria, early diagnosis was crucial to allow her to freeze her eggs.

She said she had turned her diagnosis into something positive.

“There isn’t a lot of support out there for young people with cancer, the body image side effects including the weight gain and hair loss – if I can help I will.

"Chemo and cancer affects fertility and can put you into early menopause," she told BBC News NI.

"To have that wee window of two weeks to go through fertility treatment, it was hard, it was three needles a day, but I am fortunate I had the opportunity."

Maria, who underwent four rounds of chemotherapy, said at the start she kept asking “why me?”.

She said the constant sickness and losing her hair was hard.

"One day my hair just kept falling out - within four weeks I had no hair left," she said.

"That was a challenge, and I am now using wigs and headscarves. I have tried to find beauty somewhere else, so I am working on my make-up."

Maria’s chemotherapy has worked. A recent PET scan revealed the tumour had shrunk.

Now she will have radiotherapy treatment instead.

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. It develops when blood cells called lymphocytes become abnormal.

Normal lymphocytes fight infection. They are part of the lymphatic system which helps protect your body from infection and disease.

There are two main types of lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The most common symptom is a painless swelling in a lymph node, usually in the neck, armpit, or groin.

Cancers diagnosed in people aged between 18 and 49 in Northern Ireland have risen by 20% in the past 25 years.

The research carried out by Queen's University Belfast and the NI Cancer Registry compared 2019 statistics with 1993 figures, when registry records began.

Figures showed that by 2019, 1,076 people aged 18-49 were diagnosed with some form of cancer.