Poorest are 66pc more likely to die from cancer

Inequality branded national scandal... and Covid ‘means it’ll only get worse’

SCOTLAND’S mortality rates from cancer have been branded a ‘national scandal’ after it emerged those living in the most deprived areas are far more likely to die.

A report by Public Health Scotland said: ‘For all cancers combined, the most deprived areas have incidence rates that are 28 per cent higher than the least deprived areas.

‘Mortality rates for all cancers combined are 66 per cent higher in the most deprived compared with the least deprived areas. The possible reasons for these patterns are complex and reflect modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for developing cancer, uptake of screening, access to treatments and other health conditions.’

The PHS report covered 2019, before Covid-19 struck.

Scottish Labour has warned that the situation could worsen because of the pandemic, which led to screening services being paused and patients experiencing difficulties accessing GPs.

There were around 5,000 fewer cancer diagnoses recorded by the end of 2020 than would have been expected, meaning potentially thousands of cancer cases were not picked up.

Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘These staggering inequalities are nothing short of a national scandal. Lives are being lost as a direct result of Scotland’s shameful health inequalities – and things are only set to get worse.

‘These figures are a grim reminder that it is the worst off who will be hit the hardest by the cancer timebomb we face.’

Kate Seymour, head of advocacy for Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, said: ‘We’re still not fully recovered from the disruption caused by the first, second and third waves of Covid.

‘But it’s so important for anyone with possible cancer symptoms to contact their GP straightaway to get checked out as soon as possible.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The overall risk of dying from cancer in 2019 fell by nearly 10 per cent.

‘This is in no small part down to the work of NHS Scotland and our cancer services to improve treatment and achieve early diagnosis.

‘We continue to focus on tackling disparities in deprived areas by ensuring equitable access to cancer services through the actions in our National Cancer Plan.’