By 2020, almost half of the UK population will receive a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime[i]. Cancer survival rates in the UK are among the worst in Europe – not least because many people are diagnosed too late when their cancer is advanced. Pauline Latham OBE MP and the APPG on Cancer believe that this must change.
Over the past year the percentage of people in England surviving at least one year from their initial cancer diagnosis has risen from 69.3% to 70.2%. However, this is still well behind comparable international rates – in Sweden, for example, one-year cancer survival is around 82%. The figure for the local NHS South Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group Area is 70.5%
Pauline Latham OBE MP said:
“The earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of surviving at least one year and surviving cancer generally. The publication of these local one-year survival rates should therefore encourage the local NHS, with the support of the wider cancer community, to promote earlier diagnosis. As the MP for Mid-Derbyshire, I will be engaging with the CCG leadership to discuss how we can ensure more local people survive cancer”.
“In the South Derbyshire CCG area, 70.5% of people live for a year or more after a cancer diagnosis. Yet in Sweden, the figure is 82%. More work is needed through earlier diagnosis to increase this number, as the UK has among the lowest survival rates in Europe. Better screening uptake, diagnostics within Primary Care, public awareness and GP training are all possible areas our local CCG could explore improving.”