Early detection of cancer ‘will save lives and money’

EARLY cancer diagnosis makes a “staggering” difference to survival rates, with patients 18 times more likely to live when the disease is caught sooner, the head of the NHS has said.

Simon Stevens said improving speed of cancer diagnosis is now the biggest challenge facing the service, as he outlined plans to boost survival rates.

Mr Stevens added that earlier diagnosis would save money as well as lives, reducing reliance on the most expensive treatments. Speaking at the War on Cancer conference in London, Mr Stevens said some of the differences in survival depending on stage of diagnosis were “remarkable”.

Mr Stevens highlighted “staggering” differences in survival in bowel cancer, depending on how early it was spotted. Nine in 10 of those diagnosed early would still be alive five years later, figures show. But 19 in 20 of cases identified later would not survive, he warned.