Barbara Keeley, Shadow Health Minister, hosted a meeting at Westminster to launch a new report by the British Lung Foundation calling for action to be taken to improve lung cancer survival rates.
Barbara spoke at the launch event alongside Tom Newsom-Davis, the chair of the group of lung cancer experts who had worked on the report. The report highlights the fact that one third of lung cancer patients in the UK are diagnosed as an emergency, when the disease is more advanced and there is a reduced chance of treatment to cure the cancer.
Lung cancer is the UK’s biggest cancer killer and accounts for one in five of all cancer deaths. Salford has high rates of lung cancer, around 76 cases per 100,000 people compared to the national average of 47 cases. Just one in ten lung cancer patients survive for 5 years after their diagnosis.
Barbara said:
““We must work to ensure that lung cancer patients receive treatment sooner so that their chances of survival are greater. It is not acceptable that one third of lung cancer patients are diagnosed as an emergency. This means that their condition is more advanced and they have a reduced chance of treatment that will cure them.”
“Lung cancer has a devastating impact in cities like Salford, where it is the biggest cancer killer. I welcome this work by the British Lung Foundation and I call on the Government to do more to improve the diagnosis of lung cancer and the support and treatment for it. We must take action so that lung cancer patients and their families have a better chance of a positive outcome in future.”
