05 December 2008
By Julie Read
More cancers are being caught earlier and longer-term treatment for survivors is improving, according to the first annual report into the government's Cancer Reform Strategy.
Cancer charities welcomed the achievements, but warned that they continue to face huge challenges in the fight against the disease.
The report, Maintaining momentum, building for the future, published on December 1, highlighted achievements such as the introduction of the national awareness and early detection initiative. It also cited the national cancer survivorship initiative, which aims to ensure that the 1.6 million cancer survivors in England receive integrated services.
The government's cancer czar, Professor Mike Richards, said: 'Cancer treatment in Britain has improved vastly in recent years and we are now beginning to see the impact on our survival rates. Recent cancer mortality figures for under-75s show that nearly 9,000 lives will have been saved in 2007 compared with 1996, and we are on course to meet our target of a reduction of at least 20% in cancer death rates by 2010.'
Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: 'It is good to see so much improvement in cancer treatment but we still face a great challenge. '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.'
The report exposed how major health inequalities are reflected in cancer survival rates. A Thames Registry study in Southeast England showed that black women have a far worse survival rate from breast cancer than white women, while black males have double the prostate cancer rates of white males.
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