HMN 2026: How Severe mental illness can shorten a cancer patient’s life by 30 years

Cancer patients in Ireland living with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder can face life expectancies up to 30 years shorter than the general population, according to a new report.

This “mortality gap” is caused by delays in diagnosis, barriers to treatment, and exclusion from cutting-edge clinical trials, according to “The Cancer Policy Dialogue Report: Inequity in Cancer Care for Patients with Significant Mental Health Difficulties.”

Launching the new report at the All-Island Cancer Summit, co-author Dr. Paul D’Alton, UCD School of Psychology, said the findings reveal significant inequities for some of Ireland’s most vulnerable patients.

“People with severe mental illness face barriers such as delays in cancer diagnosis and difficulties in undergoing cancer treatment, and we know that their life expectancy could be shortened by up to 30 years, which is a huge mortality gap compared to people in the general population receiving cancer care.”

Central to the report is a call for the creation of a dedicated clinical care pathway to support people with significant mental health difficulties accessing cancer services.

“We know from what people have achieved in other parts of the world, such as Massachusetts and Denmark, that this is possible, and we need to do it now in Ireland,” said Dr. D’Alton.

“We can make a significant difference within the next five years for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

Dr. D’Alton, and co-author Professor Jim Lucey, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, presented a series of other recommendations aimed at overhauling cancer care for patients with severe mental illness.

Among these were ensuring health care staff receive training in mental health awareness and increasing inclusion of these patients in clinical trials that provide access to emerging cancer therapies.

Professor Lucey described the inequality as “hugely empirical and inarguable and unacceptable.”

“The idea is that we are going to develop health care from the principle of human rights—that all of us are created equal and that all of us have an inalienable right to access health care.”

The new report is linked to a policy dialogue event hosted at UCD Institute for Discovery last October, which brought together experts in cancer research, psychiatry, psychology and health care policy to address disparities in cancer outcomes for people with severe mental illness.

The All-Island Cancer Summit is a major cross-border forum for leaders in cancer research, health care, policy, industry, and patient advocacy seeking to advance a unified approach to cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship across the island of Ireland.

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