Rare cancers include things such as mesothelioma, head and neck cancers, some of the gynecologic cancers like ovarian or uterine cancers, things such as pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer. These are all cancers that require very specialised expertise. The other group of cancers that fall into this, I are things like the sarcomas, which are cancers of muscle and bone. By contrast, there are common cancers that most hospitals will treat lots of. Breast cancer, prostate cancer, bowel cancer, lung cancer. These are common cancers that most large hospitals will have great experience with.

Professor Michael Boyer is Medical Oncologist at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse