Press releases

January 25 2005

LUNG CANCER CHARITY CONDEMNS LACK OF FUNDING

A leading Liverpool-based lung cancer charity has condemned what The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has dubbed 'the postcode lottery' for cancer treatment.

The Commons report today states that people in the North of England have lower survival rates because patients are from poor areas and tend to be diagnosed later.

But while millions of pounds is being poured into cancer research by the Government, only 3% goes to lung cancer research.

Mike Unger, Chief Executive of The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation said: "The Commons public accounts committee has said that people in northern England are twice as likely to die of cancer than those in parts of the south.

"The situation is even more dire for those patients diagnosed with lung cancer."

He added: "While the Government may be working hard to ensure earlier detection of some cancers, lung cancer is still very much the poor relation.

"Each year 40,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK. Health authorities and the government need to allocate sufficient funds to help tackle this disease at a local level to ensure earlier diagnosis, better patient outcomes and a broader range of treatment options."

Mike concluded: "Lung cancer can be treated and is potentially curable if diagnosed early. A diagnosis of lung cancer is devastating enough for patients and their families without the added pressure of lack of access to treatment."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Lung Cancer - The Facts
· One new patient is diagnosed with lung cancer every 15 minutes - that's approximately 40,000 new patients every year in the UK.
· 80% of people die within a year of being diagnosed with lung cancer.
· Average time from diagnosis to death is just four month.
· Second most common cancer in the UK after breast cancer.
· 151,200 deaths from cancer in the UK in 2000 - more than one fifth of these from lung cancer.
· Most common cause of cancer death in men and women in the UK.
· Third most common cancer in women accounting for more than one in 10 (11%) of all new cases.
· Smoking and passive smoking cause nine out of 10 lung cancers.
· Third of all cancer deaths in the western world are linked to tobacco use.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is the only lung cancer organisation in the world wholly dedicated to prevention, research and patient care, the Liverpool-based charity is currently undertaking a pioneering 10-year population-based research study. The Liverpool Lung Project aims to identify individuals at risk of developing lung cancer, monitor changes in the lungs before lung cancer develops and develop screening programmes to improve early detection.

Smoking cessation and tobacco control are core areas of work for The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, which launched its National Clean Air Award in March 2004. This is the first and only UK wide scheme which provides guidance to employers wishing to devise a no-smoking policy in the workplace and awards a certificate to those with an effective policy in place. The Foundation also works with schools to education children about the harmful effects of smoking through its KATS (Kids Against Tobacco Smoke) initiative.

More information is available on the website www.roycastle.org

The Government's report, Tackling Cancer Services in England: Saving More Lives, is available on the National Audit Office website www.nao.uk