Lung cancer rate revealed

MORE than 350 people in Halton developed lung cancer over the last few years.

New data from Public Health England (PHE) reveals that 361 people in Runcorn and Widnes were diagnosed with the disease between 2013 and 2015.

It works out at a rate of 113 cases in every 100,000 people in the borough.

People in nearby Knowsley meanwhile are more likely to develop lung cancer than anywhere else in the country.

The new PHE data reveals that 593 people in Knowsley were diagnosed with the disease between 2013 and 2015.

That’s up from the 515 new cases of lung cancer seen over the previous three years, and works out as 157 new diagnoses for every 100,000 people living in the area.

It’s the highest rate of people developing lung cancer in the country, and twice as high as the national average.

Across England, 112,921 people were diagnosed with lung cancer between 2013 and 2015 – 79 cases for every 100,000 people living in the country.

Meanwhile, Liverpool itself had the third highest rate, just behind Manchester – 1,579 people in the city were diagnosed over the three year period, or 147 for every 100,000 people. In fact, everywhere in Merseyside had higher than average rates of people developing lung cancer.

For example, Wirral has the lowest rate of lung cancer in the region with 951 diagnoses in 2013-15, but that still works out as 96 new cases for every 100,000 residents.

Lung cancer is the second most common kind of cancer diagnosed in the UK, behind breast cancer, and accounts for more than one in five deaths from the disease.

In fact, it’s currently the deadliest cancer in the world.

Someone diagnosed with lung cancer in Merseyside only has a 30% chance of surviving a year – and just one in every nine people with the disease lives past five years.