'Early Alert' Sounded Over Cancer

A new campaign that will alert people to the early signs of cancer and encourage them to get checked out will be launched in January next year.

Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced yesterday that the campaign would consist of 59 local campaigns focussing on the three big killers - breast, bowel and lung cancer.

Local areas have been given a share of £9 million for their campaigns.

At the same time as running these local projects, the Department of Health will be trialling, in two regions, centrally-led campaign activity to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms and to encourage early presentation.

Subject to evaluation, the campaign will be introduced nationally.

Being diagnosed at an early stage of the disease increases the chance of being successfully treated. Estimates show that 10,000 lives could be saved in England each year if survival rates matched the best in Europe.

The Government believes that much of this gap in survival rates could be filled if we could get cancers diagnosed earlier.

For example, more than 90% of people diagnosed with bowel cancer at the early stage survive for at least five years compared with only 6.6% of those diagnosed at the late stage.

Paul Burstow said: "Cancer affects us all. We all have a story of someone we love battling the disease. Our aim is simple - we want to save many more lives and achieve cancer survival rates among the best in the world.

"In England we are lagging behind European countries when it comes to the common but big killer cancers such as breast, bowel and lung.

"The NHS is spending at European levels but still not delivering European cancer survival rates. We know that generally the earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better the outlook.

"That's why our campaign will help people to be more alert to the early signs and symptoms of cancer and encourage them to seek medical advice as soon as possible," he said.

Deborah Alsina, Chief Executive, Bowel Cancer UK and Mark Flannagan, Chief Executive, Beating Bowel Cancer said: "We warmly welcome the announcement of funding for new campaigns to support early diagnosis of bowel cancer at both national and PCT level."

Cancer Research UK's Executive Director of communications and information Sarah Lyness said: "Encouraging people to seek help from their doctor if they suspect cancer is the crucial first step in getting a speedy cancer diagnosis."

(BMcC/GK)