Are the odds of beating breast cancer improving? This will be the focus of a free RCSI MyHealth public lecture that takes place in RCSI this evening, Wednesday, 21 September 2016. The lecture, entitled ‘Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Constantly Improving the Odds’, will be held from 18.30-20.30 at RCSI, 123 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2.

Every year approximately 2,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland and, of those, nearly 700 women die from the disease each year*. However, over the past number of years, ground-breaking developments in research have led to better and more effective treatments that are helping improve the odds in the fight against breast cancer for women all over the world. These developments will be the focus of Wednesday evening's RCSI MyHealth lecture, which will feature four speakers.

The lecture will be chaired by Professor Arnold Hill, Consultant Breast Surgeon and Head of RCSI's School of Medicine who will deliver a talk on breast cancer and its incidence in Ireland including an overview of the current treatments available as well as detailing the research carried out into the condition by his team at RCSI.

Mr Barry O'Sullivan, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, RCSI and Consultant in Plastic Surgery, Beaumont Hospital will discuss the various options women are faced with if they choose breast reconstructive surgery. Dr Orla McArdle, Consultant Oncologist in Beaumont Hospital and St Luke's Hospital, will speak about new treatments in breast cancer with a focus on the latest updates in radiation therapy, a treatment which uses X-ray beams to kill cancer cells.

Finally, Barbara O'Reilly Hyland, Breast Cancer survivor, former model and Breast Cancer Ireland Ambassador will give an insight into living with breast cancer, the effect it had on her life and the following years in the aftermath of her treatment.

Speaking ahead of the lecture, Professor Arnold Hill said, "Breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in women and the risk of every woman getting breast cancer in their life is one in 10. The aim of the RCSI MyHealth lecture is to increase the awareness of the disease and to make the public more aware of how research is informing and improving the various therapies and treatments for breast cancer patients. With October being breast cancer awareness month, this is the perfect opportunity to discuss these recent innovations and what lies ahead in the future for breast cancer patients."

References
* Irish Cancer Society