One in four people in Ireland are unaware of blood cancer and just one in 10 have a lot of knowledge about the disease, new research has found.

Blood cancer is an umbrella term for any cancers that affect the blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system. These account for around 7% of all cancers and at any one time, there are some 1,500 people in Ireland affected.

There are around 140 different types of the disease, including leukaemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

In an attempt to raise awareness of blood cancer, a new campaign has been launched by the Irish Cancer Society, Multiple Myeloma Ireland and Janssen Ireland. A recent survey of 1,000 adults revealed that one in four were not aware of the disease, while three in four agreed that levels of awareness are low in Ireland.

The ‘Make Blood Cancer Visible' campaign is a Europe-wide initiative, which aims to share stories of people living with this disease. The Irish leg of the campaign was launched by former Clare hurler and manager, Ger Loughnane, who developed leukaemia in 2011.

"When I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia I knew very little about the disease and the impact it would have on my life. I was diagnosed after a blood test. I was feeling tired, weak and had no energy for over a year, but the symptoms were really severe in the three months before I was diagnosed.

"I received four rounds of treatment, each for about six weeks, so it was a lot of information to digest at a stressful time. It was hard but afterwards my bloods started to improve and thankfully now I'm out of the woods," he explained.

He said that getting his diagnosis took a long time and during that waiting period, he never thought to ask for a blood test.

"It's important to share stories and inform people about blood cancer so others know about the disease and its symptoms," he commented.

Blood cancer can be difficult to diagnose as some of the symptoms are common to many other ailments, such as tiredness, anaemia, weight loss, shortness of breath and recurrent infections.

"Blood cancer symptoms are varied, which can result in a delay in patients presenting for a medical exam. Symptoms include tiredness, breathlessness, weight loss, bleeding or unexplained bruising, recurrent infections and painless swelling/masses in your neck, underarms and/or groin. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, visit your GP for further investigation," said Prof Elisabeth Vandenberghe, a consultant haematologist at St James's Hospital in Dublin.

Commenting on the survey findings, Donal Buggy of the Irish Cancer Society noted that at least eight in 10 people said that they were interested in learning more about blood cancer, a figure he described as ‘encouraging'.

"We hope that the ‘Make Blood Cancer Visible' campaign will raise public awareness of blood cancer and highlight the issues facing people living with the condition. We would urge anyone who has received a blood cancer diagnosis to seek support. The Irish Cancer Society provides a specialist Cancer Nurseline on 1800 200 700 and our website cancer.ie outlines our expert cancer information and support services, including Daffodil Centres in 13 major hospitals nationwide," he explained.

A ‘Make Blood Cancer Visible' storybook, which contains the personal stories of people affected by blood cancer, is available here

For more information on the Irish Cancer Society, click here. For more information on Multiple Myeloma Ireland, click here