- Call for evidence to inform an ambitious 10-Year Cancer Plan
extended to Friday 8 April to ensure everyone has their say
- Cancer is the biggest cause of death from disease in the UK
and the government wants to make the country’s cancer care system
the best in Europe
- Government wants to hear from everyone – especially those
from ethnic minority backgrounds who are disproportionately
impacted by cancer
More people to share their experiences and views on how the
country can lead the world on cancer care, as the Health and
Social Care Secretary announces an extension on the cancer
call for evidence to
inform an ambitious 10-Year Cancer Plan.
Cancer is the biggest cause of death from disease in the UK but
it does not affect everyone equally. Black men for example have
the highest mortality from prostate cancer and people from
Caribbean or Pakistani backgrounds are more likely than white
British people to be diagnosed with lung cancer at a later stage,
when it is harder to treat.
The government wants to hear from everyone – whether a patient or
a friend or family member affected by this disease. Cancer
affects some groups in different ways so the government is
particularly keen to hear from people from ethnic minority
backgrounds to help us improve how we diagnose and treat this
disease.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
“My father died from cancer and wished he had taken the early
signs much more seriously. But unfortunately for him, like so
many people from ethnic minority communities, it was detected too
late.
“No one should feel ashamed in coming forward to their doctor or
going to a cancer screening - this is all about making sure you
get the care you need and living a longer and healthier life.
“We are extending the cancer call for evidence to inform our 10
year Cancer Plan to better understand why people aren’t coming
forward, how we can improve early diagnosis to save more lives
and we need to hear from you. We know disparities exist and I
would encourage everyone to share their views on gov.uk by Friday
8 April.”
The Health and Social Care Secretary set out his vision to make
England a world-leader in cancer care as we learn to live with
Covid - with renewed attention paid to innovative treatment and
early diagnosis to radically improve outcomes for cancer
patients.
Cancer care has improved - in the last 15 years, one-year
survival has increased by more than 10% and for patients
diagnosed in 2015, their survival rate was 72% after one
year. But the pandemic has impacted cancer care with 50,000
fewer cancer diagnoses across the UK during the pandemic.
The government’s cancer priorities include:
- increasing the number of people diagnosed at an early stage,
where treatment can prove much more effective;
- boosting the cancer workforce;
- tackling disparities and inequalities, including in cancer
diagnosis times and ensuring recovery from the pandemic is
delivered in a fair way. For instance, the ‘Help Us Help You’
cancer awareness campaign will be directed towards people from
more deprived groups and ethnic minorities;
- intensifying research on mRNA vaccines and therapeutics for
cancer – this will be achieved through the UK’s global leadership
and supporting industry to develop new cancer treatments by
combining expertise in cancer immunotherapy treatment and the
vaccine capabilities developed throughout the pandemic;
- Intensifying research on new early diagnostic tools to catch
cancer at an earlier stage; and
- Improving prevention of cancer through tackling the big known
risk factors such as smoking.
The call for evidence can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/10-year-cancer-plan-call-for-evidence/10-year-cancer-plan-call-for-evidence
