NHS England | March 2022 | Celebrities join forces with the NHS to encourage cancer checks
Famous faces have come out in support of a new, first of its kind NHS campaign aimed at tackling fears and concerns about cancer.
Further details about the campaign are available from NHS England
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World Health Organization | February 2022 | World Cancer Day: closing the care gap
On World Cancer Day (4 February 2022), WHO released Setting Up a Cancer Centre: a WHO-IAEA Framework, being released by the World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency for World Cancer Day, proposes a framework for both establishing a cancer centre and strengthening the provision of services in existing centres. Intended for policy-makers, programme managers and health professionals, it provides details of the infrastructure, human resources and equipment required for essential services, taking into consideration local context and resources available.
Cancer is one of the world’s leading causes of death, and its burden is growing. In 2021, the world crossed a sobering new threshold – an estimated 20 million people were diagnosed with cancer, and 10 million died. These numbers will continue to rise in the decades ahead. And yet all cancers can be treated, and many can be prevented or cured.
Care for cancer, however, like so many other diseases, reflects the inequalities and inequities of our world. The clearest distinction is between high- and low-income countries, with comprehensive treatment reportedly available in more than 90 per cent of high-income countries but less than 15 per cent of low-income countries.
Similarly, the survival of children diagnosed with cancer is more than 80 per cent in high-income countries, and less than 30 per cent in low- and middle-income countries. And breast cancer survival five years after diagnosis now exceeds 80 per cent in most high-income countries, compared with 66 per cent in India and just 40 per cent in South Africa.
Furthermore, a recent WHO survey found that cancer services are covered by a country’s largest, government health financing scheme in an estimated 37 per cent of low- and middle-income countries, compared to at least 78 per cent of high-income countries. This means that a cancer diagnosis has the potential to push families into poverty, particularly in lower-income countries, an effect that has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Closing the care gap
For all of these reasons, the theme for this year’s World Cancer Day is “closing the care gap”.
Full details from WHO
On the 11th of January 2022, the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce (LSCT) is launching the first ever Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day, to raise the profile of our cancers and to highlight the critical importance of early diagnosis in improving survival.
The six less survivable common cancers (lung, pancreatic, liver, brain, oesophageal and stomach) are responsible for almost half of all cancer deaths and make up a quarter of cancer cases each year in the UK.
We need action to improve survival rates of the less survivable cancers.
The Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce will be raising awareness of less survivable cancers so more people understand their symptoms and go to see their GP if they have concerns.
Full details from lesssurvivablecancers.org.uk
EGFR Positive UK, ALK Positive UK, Ruth Strauss Foundation, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Cancer Research UK, and Macmillan Cancer Support | nd | Lung cancer see through the symptoms
Six cancer charities: EGFR Positive UK, ALK Positive UK, Ruth Strauss Foundation, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Cancer Research UK, and Macmillan Cancer Support have produced the campaign see through the symtpoms to raise awareness of lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with only 16% of patients expected to survive more than five years, and over half being diagnosed with advanced metastatic disease. It can affect anyone, smokers and non-smokers alike, with lung cancer in never-smokers now the UK’s 8th most common cause of cancer-related death.
Early investigation and referral is the key to improving outcomes. Early diagnosis saves lives. The charities have produced a list of resources for primary healthcare staff and their patients.
Symptoms of lung cancer include a persistent cough, breathlessness, recurrent chest infection, back or shoulder pain, fatigue, hoarseness, or swelling in the face or neck. If you see persistent or unexplained symptoms, please consider chest X-rays or referral on the Lung Cancer Pathway.
In then news:
Guardian GPs urged to be more alert in diagnosing lung cancer in non-smokers
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month | n.d | Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, ovarian cancer is the biggest gynaecological killer of women in the UK women, with UK survival rates among the worst in Europe.
Three quarters of women are diagnosed once the cancer has already spread, making treatment more difficult. This is why awareness is so important, to drive forward improvements in diagnosis, treatment and survival.
Ovarian cancer charities in the UK, we are all working to increase awareness of the disease, with women and GPs, in order to save lives (Source: Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month).
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Pancreatic Cancer Europe & United European Gastroenterology | November 2018 | Pancreatic cancer across Europe
Today (15 November) is World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day, Pancreatic Cancer Europe & United European Gastroenterology have released Pancreatic cancer across Europe: Taking a united stand. Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate in Europe. Patient outcomes have been largely static for the last forty years, in contrast to the improved outcomes in the treatment of other cancers.
The number of deaths from pancreatic cancer has almost doubled in the
past thirty years, over 90,000 EU citizens die from pancreatic cancer every year. Forecasts predict that this dreadful disease shows no sign of relenting either, with the number of cases and deaths both estimated to increase by 40% by 2035 (Source: Pancreatic Cancer Europe & United European Gastroenterology).
Read the full report Pancreatic Cancer Across Europe Taking a united stand
Make Sense Campaign | Head and neck cancer can leave anyone feeling unrecognisable
This week 17 – 21 September 2018 is European Head & Neck Cancer Week. The Make Sense Campaign is raising awareness of Head & Neck Cancer across Europe, led by the European Head and Neck Society (EHNS).
Information about the signs and symptoms are available from Make Sense Campaign
There are a number of Survivor stories
Download the toolkit here
Among the resources for patients with head and neck cancer is a cookbook created by survivors, which provides information on nutrition and guidance on cooking tasty, nutritious meals here
You can follow the campaign on Twitter @MakeSenseCmpn
Bloodwise | September 2018 |Over half of Brits don’t know symptoms of blood cancer
September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month and to raise awareness of blood cancers Bloodwise commissioned a survey to assess the general population’s understanding and knowledge of these types of cancer. Despite blood cancer being one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers, Bloodwise’s poll of 1000 adults found that only a tenth of the public were able to recognise its symptoms. Less than 1 % of people are “very confident” they could identify common symptoms of blood cancer, with over 50 per cent of the population not knowing any symptoms at all.
Blood cancer symptoms can be varied and often very vague. People can have just one or many of these before diagnosis – and in some cases, none at all:
Read the full article here
Attendance for cervical screening has been falling year on year. This professional resource from Public Health England aims to address this decline in attendance by presenting recommendations that can help increase access to screening and awareness of cervical cancer.
Download the infographics, references and a shorter version of this publication here
Cancer deaths in Greater Manchester are 10% higher than the UK average. A new volunteer scheme wants to change this | The Guardian
The idea, led by Greater Manchester Cancer Vanguard Innovation, (part of Greater Manchester Cancer – the cancer programme of Greater Manchester’s devolved health and social care partnership), is to use people power to create a cultural shift in one of the UK’s cancer hot spots, and make it normal to talk about screening, healthier lifestyle options and catching symptoms early.
Working with the voluntary sector, the aim is to sign up 5,000 cancer champions by autumn 2017, and to reach 20,000 by 2019. Mobilising this cancer army is one of a series of measures to cut premature cancer deaths in the area by 1,300 by 2021.
Read the full news story here
Cancer Services News 