Cancer Research UK: Awareness needs boosting
Monday, 03 Dec 2007 11:17
The chief executive of one of Britain's biggest cancer charities has urged the government to do more to increase the level of public awareness of the killer disease's risk factors.
Speaking on the day the government launched its five-year cancer strategy, Harpal Kumar of Cancer Research UK said Britons needed to know more about what caused cancer.
"Cancer Research UK did a survey earlier this year and of the six main lifestyle risk factors for cancer less than five per cent of the population could name four of them," he told the Today programme.
"So we do have a long way to go in improving awareness."
Today's strategy includes plans to increase investment in radiotherapy and screening – something which Mr Kumar believes is key to helping improve the survival rate for those diagnosed with cancer.
"It is the case that half of all cancer patients need radiotherapy as part of their treatment," he said.
"The best estimates that I've seen are that of all patients cured of cancer, about half are cured by surgery, about 35 per cent to 40 per cent by radiotherapy and 10 per cent to 15 per cent by new drugs.
"That having been said, the new drugs are very effective and they also have reduced side effects. But it is important to stress how much radiotherapy contributes to the overall improvement in survival that we've seen."
The government announced an investment of about £100 million for new digital mammography equipment, an amount Mr Kumar believes will make "substantial difference".
"[This] will ensure that we now have the capacity to deliver consistently across the country without patients having to wait for long periods for treatment," he said.
