I doubt that there is anyone on the island who has not been affected by cancer either directly or through a family member or friend being diagnosed with cancer. Great strides have been made in preventative measures, early diagnosis and the treatment of the disease, but a diagnosis of cancer is still guaranteed to strike terror into most individuals and create upheaval in families.

I know from personal experience how difficult it can be. My wife, Siobhan, was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer in 2002. After surgery for a mastectomy, the next four years were spent attending appointments in the Bridgewater Suite in Belfast City Hospital for chemotherapy and Belvoir Park Hospital for radiotherapy. Of course, Siobhan had to deal with all of the side effects of those treatments, including sickness and nausea, hair loss, joint pain, weakness and extreme fatigue. At one stage, we had to go to Dublin in an ambulance because Siobhan needed a treatment for metastatic cancer; the cancer had spread to her brain. As she had already received a full blast of radiotherapy, any further radiotherapy had to be precise and targeted beams of radiation, which is known as "stereotactic radiotherapy". That was not available in the North at that time, so we had to travel to Dublin. Thankfully, that treatment is now available in the North. Unfortunately, my wife died in 2006. It is not an experience that I would like to repeat, especially having to tell a six-year-old that his mother had died during the night.

My story is by no means unique. Many people have gone through the same, and worse. It makes sense that, on such a small island, we should pool our resources not just to deliver treatment to those suffering from cancer and other diseases and ailments but to collaborate in research, innovation and best practice. If our objective is to reduce the number of people diagnosed with preventable cancers, improve survival and improve the experience of people diagnosed with cancer, collaborative working between North and South is not only desirable but should be an absolute imperative.

It should not stop there. Ireland has the skill set, technology and infrastructure to become a world leader in innovative cancer research, but there is also a need for greater collaboration on a global level with the US and the EU. There is absolutely no reason why this island cannot be a world leader in cancer research. There is still a long way to go to eliminate the scourge of cancer, but cooperation and collaboration are the only way to go.