Lung Cancer is the biggest cancer killer in Wales. At present there are nearly 1,900 deaths from lung cancer each year in Wales, 22% of all deaths caused by cancer.
Just 7% of lung cancer patients live up to five years after the point at which they are first diagnosed, compared to 82% for breast cancer patients.
Unlike the majority of cancers, improvements in relative survival for lung cancer have been modest in recent years and outcomes in Wales remain particularly poor when compared with other UK and European countries. In fact a recent European study ranks Wales 28 out of 29 European countries in terms of survival data for lung cancer. Risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, lack of physical activity and obesity remain prevalent in Wales, contributing toward the relatively high incidence rates. The annual number of deaths from lung cancer stands at 1,894 in Wales, more than bowel and breast cancer combined, 1,506.
Improving outcomes for lung cancer patients in Wales through better prevention and awareness and earlier diagnosis and access to the best possible treatment options needs to be a key priority for the NHS in Wales.
The Lung Cancer Coalition, the UK’s largest multi-interest group in lung cancer involving leading lung cancer charities, healthcare professionals and healthcare companies, is calling for Public Health Wales to commission a concerted campaign to help people recognise the symptoms of lung cancer and seek earlier diagnosis, which I fully support.
Identifying suspected lung cancer at the earliest opportunity is crucial if survival rates are to be improved. ‘Together for Health – Cancer Delivery Plan’ identified that too many patients are being diagnosed with advanced cancer because of factors such as GPs finding it difficult to make a diagnosis and patients not visiting their GP early enough.
The Lung Cancer Coalition is also demanding the Welsh Government commit to expand the recent pilot of the 62 day (two months) Suspected Cancer Pathway – a guarantee of the start of treatment within 62 days of referral for all lung cancer patients across Wales and calling for better patient experience. It is concerning that the Wales Cancer Patient Experience Survey published in 2013 found that only 58% of patients said they had been offered the opportunity to discuss their needs and concerns and only 57% of patients were given written information about lung cancer.
It is also concerning that there are such variations in five year lung cancer survival rates across different parts of Wales – patients in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board for example have a smaller likelihood of surviving after five years since diagnosis, 3.6%, compared to 7.1% of patients in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
Dr Mick Peake, Consultant and Senior Lecturer in respiratory medicine and Chair of the Clinical Advisory Group of the UKLCC has said, one and five year lung cancer survival rates could be doubled if we apply the best standards of care being demonstrated in some parts of Wales and the rest of the UK.
Improving outcomes for lung cancer patients in all parts of Wales is crucial and the only way it will be achieved is through sustained and co-ordinated action by the Welsh Government, NHS Wales and Local Health Boards to help improve prevention, early diagnosis and access to the best possible treatments.
All these issues must be addressed as a matter or urgency if lung cancer patients in Wales are to receive the treatment and service they both need and deserve and I will be doing everything in my power to ensure Ministers respond to the demands of the Lung Cancer Coalition.