CRAIG Hoy and Sharon Dowey, Conservative MSPs for South Scotland, are supporting the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce’s (LSCT) Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day 2024 to improve the poor survival chances of people diagnosed with cancers of the lung, liver, brain, oesophagus, pancreas or stomach (the Less Survivable Cancers).
The LSCT released figures on Thursday 11 January based on a new analysis of existing data and the world survival rankings of lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers, which show that Scotland lags behind other countries when it comes to patient survival.
The data shows that out of 33 countries of comparable wealth and income levels, Scotland ranks as low as 32nd for five year survival for pancreatic cancer, 31st for stomach cancer and 29th for lung cancer. This rises slightly to 25th and 24th for oesophageal and brain cancers respectively and 12th for liver cancer.
The countries with the highest five year survival rates for less survivable cancers were Korea, Belgium, USA, Australia and China and the new analysis found that, if people in the UK survived at the same rate as those in these countries, then over 8,000 lives could be saved annually. Currently, in the UK around 15,400 people will survive for five years following a diagnosis of a less survivable cancer - if the UK had survival rates comparable to the top five performing countries, this number could be close to 24,000.
The LSCT is calling for all UK governments to commit to increasing survival rates for less survivable cancers by eliminating avoidable delays in diagnosis and proactively investing in research and treatment options.
Craig Hoy MSP said: “I fully support the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce and their calls on Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day to improve the currently terrible prospects for people diagnosed with these cancers.”
Lorraine Dallas, Chair of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce Scotland group, said: "We know that people diagnosed with a less survivable cancer are fighting against the odds for survival, but the figures we’re sharing today show that those living in Scotland and the rest of the UK have even worse prospects than in comparable countries.
"To change this poor outlook for people across the country, we're calling on all UK governments to commit to speeding up diagnosis, improving existing diagnostic routes and developing new treatments by investing in research into less survivable cancers.
“If we could bring the survivability of these cancers on level with the best-performing countries in the world then we could gain valuable years for thousands of patients.
“It’s a really positive step to see so many MSPs including Craig Hoy and Sharon Dowey supporting our Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day.”
