Wokingham MP Clive Jones led a parliamentary debate last week calling on the government to improve survival rates for the less survivable cancers, which account for 42% of all cancer deaths in the UK.
Every year 90,000 people are diagnosed with a less survivable cancer in the UK – these are cancers of the brain, liver, lungs, pancreas, oesophagus, and stomach.
Together, they represent 42% of all cancer deaths in the UK and account for 67,000 deaths every year.
Starkly, the five-year survival rate for the less survivable cancers is 16%, falling far behind survival rates for cancers overall, which have doubled.
The MP made clear that lives were at stake, highlighting that doubling the rate of early diagnosis for all six less survivable cancers would save an extra 7,500 lives a year.
As well as early diagnosis, Clive Jones also demanded that the Government improve effective treatment and increase funding for research into the less survivable cancers.
With the National Cancer Plan to be announced soon (within the next 4 weeks), there is a real opportunity for the Government to make a difference to the lives of people who will be affected by these diseases.
Following the debate, Clive Jones, the Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham, said: “This debate was a valuable opportunity to highlight to the Government what needs to be done.
“There needs to be better diagnosis, new and more clinical trials, more sharing of information amongst organisations and across borders, better screening for cancers, major improvements in the NHS workforce planning (the lack of forward planning for too long by the Conservatives is leading to some real problems in a few years), better equipment, we need to embrace new technologies, and to embrace innovation.
“I would also like to thank all the MP’s who contributed to the debate, speaking movingly about their personal experiences and the effects on their families.
“The National Cancer Plan is a great opportunity to improve cancer outcomes, and many people in the House, and our constituents, are looking to the government to publish a meaningful cancer strategy.
“In the plan there needs to be a focus on improving diagnosis, improving treatment, and improving outcomes for people with this awful disease.”
