Renewed effort to improve cancer survival
Friday November 21st, 2008
By Jane Collingwood
Britain's survival rate from cancer is still lagging behind the European average, warn experts today.
Professor Mike Richards and colleagues from Cancer Research UK believe that up to 11,000 deaths are preventable through better awareness of cancer symptoms and faster referral to hospital.
The team present new figures today at the launch of the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI) in London, UK. Their findings compare Great Britain against 13 European countries on survival from 39 different types of cancer.
If Britain's rates were as good as the best in Europe, about 11,000 fewer deaths would occur each year, they calculate.
Professor Richards said: "We know that cancer treatment in Britain has improved vastly in recent years and we are now beginning to see the impact on our survival rates. But we've still got work to do if we're going to catch up with the rest of Europe.
"I believe that if we can tackle delays in diagnosing cancer, we will be able to save thousands more lives in the future."
The NAEDI project has been set up by Professor Richards and Harpal Kumar, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, with the aim of reaching this target.
Harpal Kumar said: "These figures highlight the scale of the challenge and the opportunity we face. We know that cancers are often being picked up too late and we could make an enormous difference if we could speed the process up. We hope that the range of measures we're launching today through the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative will at last redress the balance."
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