Javid extends cancer call for evidence

UK health secretary has announced an extension on the cancer call for evidence to inform an ambitious 10-year cancer plan, a statement said. 

As part of the extension given by Sajid Javid, more people can share their experiences and views on how the country can lead the world on cancer care by 8 April.

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.

As part of the plan, the government wants to hear from everyone – especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are disproportionately impacted by cancer.

According to the statement, black men 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.

Javid 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.”

Javid has set out his vision to make England a world leader in cancer care 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 around 10 percentage points. 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, boosting the cancer workforce and tackling disparities and inequalities, including in cancer diagnosis times and ensuring recovery from the pandemic is delivered in a fairway.

The ‘Help Us Help You’ cancer awareness campaign will be directed to people from more deprived groups and ethnic minorities.

Besides, it wants to intensify research on mRNA vaccines and therapeutics for cancer. It will be achieved through developing new cancer treatments by combining expertise in cancer immunotherapy treatment and the vaccine capabilities developed throughout the pandemic.

Under the plan, intensifying research on new early diagnostic tools to catch cancer at an earlier stage and improve the prevention of cancer through tackling the big known risk factors such as smoking are also included.