Alarming new data shows NHS Lanarkshire patients from the East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow constituency missed the target treatment time following an urgent cancer suspicion.
Figures from Public Health Scotland show that 4873 patients (82 per cent) started treatment within 62 days of an urgent cancer suspicion, missing the standard target of 95 per cent over the same period.
A total of 892 people missed the compliance standard locally for cancers including breast, cervical, colorectal, head and neck, lung, lymphoma, melanoma, ovarian, upper GI and urological cancers.
Dr Lisa Cameron, MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow called on her constituents to play their part in helping to beat cancer at a Cancer Research UK event in Westminster this week to mark the charity’s 20th anniversary.
She had the chance to meet with researchers working on the latest breakthroughs and campaigners helping to deliver change in their communities, alongside learning about the cutting-edge discoveries taking place on her doorstep.
In the UK, survival has doubled in the last 40 years and today, two in four people survive their cancer for at least 10 years.
Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, three in four people will survive their cancer for at least a decade.
Dr Cameron said: “Over the years, the advances that have been made in the fight against the disease have been fantastic, and now more people than ever are surviving their cancer. But there’s further to go.
“One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime. We all have a part to play to help beat it, because if the worst happens, we can help to save the lives of more people in East Kilbride, Strathaven, Lesmahagow and across the UK.”
2022 is a special year for Cancer Research UK, as it marks 20 years since the charity was formed.
However, its history goes back much further, to 1902, with the founding of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund – meaning its work has been at the heart of some of the biggest developments in cancer, including some of the most used cancer drugs around the world today.
Lynn Mack, NHS Lanarkshire cancer services manager, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all NHS services including cancer diagnostics which is reflected in the ongoing challenged 62-day cancer waiting times performance for NHS Lanarkshire.
“Urology and colorectal remain the most challenged pathways due to their complex nature and multiple diagnostic tests required which are mainly scope-based, this can result in some patients not being treated within the 62 days of an urgent suspicion of cancer.
"To ensure diagnostic capacity is optimised, clinical staff undertake robust clinically prioritisation for each individual patient to ensure all diagnostic tests are undertaken within the cancer waiting times milestone.
“Workforce also remains a significant challenge for cancer pathways due to Covid-19 impact as does access to diagnostic scopes and surgical capacity, which is being supported by the mutual aid, including that at NHS Golden Jubilee.”
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