Representing Less Survival Cancers in Parliament
We gave evidence to the inquiry into the survival rate gap between different cancer types
On 10th November, we joined forces with the Less Survivable Cancer Taskforce to give evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee, addressing the dire outcomes for certain cancer types in the UK, including pancreatic cancer.
It’s the committee’s job to scrutinise the work of the Department of Health and Social Care and they are currently running an inquiry into cancer services. They’ll examine why cancer outcomes in England are still so far behind other countries internationally and also consider what impact the Covid-19 pandemic will have on efforts to catch up. Anna Jewell, our Director of Support, Research and Influencing and Chair of the Less Survival Taskforce, presented in Parliament to raise awareness of the big gap in survival rates between different cancer types, and across different parts of the UK.
You can watch Anna’s powerful speech on Parliament TV here: Parliamentlive.tv – Health and Social Care Committee
It’s the first time that less survivable cancers have been represented at the Health Select Committee, so it was a big opportunity to raise awareness on key issues. The meeting was Chaired by Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP who tweeted a clip from parliament TV. A report on their findings will be published in the new year.
We know that the UK ranks right at the bottom of the table in terms of survival rates compared to other European countries.