The United Kingdom could remain at the bottom of Cancer Survival League unless improvements are made according to a local MP.
Member of Parliament for Easington, Grahame Morris expressed serious concern on September 30, noting that more needs to be done if the United Kingdom is to move from the bottom of the Cancer Survival League.
When compared to other high-income, developed countries, the UK sits at the bottom of a major league table for cancer survival. The study published in Lancet Oncology explains that while there has been noted improvement in survival rates of patients across the UK, the country is still not on par with other developed countries and carries the worst survival rate for five out of the seven cancers.
Responding to comments made by the Minister of State in the Department of Health, Morris said: “The UK will remain at the bottom of the Cancer Survival League until we dramatically improve our radiotherapy services.”
Morris further questioned what steps would be taken to implement the “Manifesto For Radiotherapy” on the back of a recent publication by The Times which indicated that half of the NHS trusts are treating cancer patients with out of date radiotherapy machines.
In response the Minister of State, Edwar Argar highlighted that the investment in CT scanners and X-ray machines (£200 million investment) would be an important start to improving cancer treatment across the UK.