Wednesday evening, John Baron MP as Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer hosted and spoke at Cancer Research UK’s Parliamentary reception which highlighted the importance of spotting cancer early. The reception was attended by senior figures from CRUK, The Department of Health, other charities as well as Parliamentarians. Also speaking was Nicholas Owen (the Presenter and Newsreader), Professor Mike Richards (The Cancer Tzar, Department of Health) and Harpal Kumar (Chief Executive, CRUK).
John said:
“10,000 deaths could be avoided each year in the UK if we diagnosed cancer earlier. The Government has wisely already committed to introducing a one year survival indicator, which should encourage the NHS to diagnose earlier because the later the diagnosis the fewer people who will survive one year.”
“But we also need to allow GPs greater access to diagnostic tests as they are the gate keepers to the NHS. Improving earlier diagnosis is crucial if we are to tackle cancer in the future.”
“Aisling Burnand, executive director of policy and public affairs at CRUK said:
“We are calling for the Government to commit to beating cancer through diagnosing cancer earlier. The Government must ensure that GPs are given greater access to the tests they need to diagnose cancer.”
The reception was part of the charity’s Commit to Beat Cancer campaign, which identifies five main areas to address in order to improve cancer survival rates – preventing more cancers, tackling inequalities, protecting the science research base, providing access to world class treatment and detecting cancer earlier.
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