At least cash will help battle to cut tragic cancer toll
THE Government’s tax raid on workers to shore up the National Health Service – and pave the way for reform of a dysfunctional social care system – may strike at the heart of much cherished Conservative values.
But, hopefully, it should now enable people to get quicker treatment for medical conditions that has been denied them for the past 18 months as a result of the NHS’s focus on dealing with the devastating consequences of coronavirus.
This week, insurer Zurich will publish the latest claims data on its range of financial protection policies. These include life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection, which pay a lump sum on death (life cover) or a predetermined sum or income on diagnosis of a serious illness such as cancer or a stroke.
The figures will highlight a ‘worrying’ drop in the number of customers – primarily women – who have made a claim on a critical illness policy for early-stage cancer. The 69 per cent fall in such claims, it says, reflects fewer women being able to be screened for breast cancer during the pandemic – or a reluctance by some to be screened for fear of burdening the NHS at a critical time.
Louise Colley, director of retail protection business at Zurich, says the country is now on the ‘brink of a cancer crisis, exacerbated by many people not coming forward for help’. On Friday, she told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Many of our customers have told us they delayed speaking to their GP as a result of uncertainty over the treatment and services available during the pandemic. We now urge them, especially women, to come forward if they have any worrying symptoms so that they can access the screening they may need. For conditions such as breast cancer, early intervention is key.’
Research by Cancer Research UK indicates that about 38,000 fewer cancer patients began treatment between April 2020 and March 2021, compared with the same period a year earlier. About 28 per cent of these are likely to have been breast cancer patients, equating to about 10,600 people. It says a majority of those who missed out on breast cancer treatment are likely to be people who have yet to be diagnosed, with the vast majority in an early stage of the disease.
Cancer that is detected early is generally more treatable. But a delay in diagnosis can have seriousconsequences. The tragic toll of the disease was highlighted last week with the death of Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding. When the 39-yearold was diagnosed a year ago, she already had advanced breast cancer
but she had suffered symptoms of the disease in December 2019.
As part of the social care plans announced last week by Boris Johnson, £12billion a year will be shovelled in the direction of the NHS for the next three years. It is hoped this will shrink NHS waiting lists that remain horribly high.
The latest data from the British Medical Association shows that in excess of 300,000 patients have been waiting more than a year for treatment, while the total NHS waiting list remains at a record high of 5.5million. Between April 2020 and June this year, elective procedures carried out at NHS hospitals dropped by a startling 3.6million, while outpatient visits fell by more than 28million.
Those suffering from cancer have been badly hit by the switching of NHS resources
to help Covid victims. Despite Government assurances that cancer care would not be hit by the pandemic, the figures suggest otherwise. Some 19,000 people have been waiting more than 62 days for a diagnosis following an urgent suspected cancer referral.
Zurich’s Colley says the Government’s proposals for dealing with the NHS backlog and the social care sector are ‘welcome’ – ‘even more so in light of the devastation caused by Covid, both in care homes and in the fallout we’re now seeing as people struggle to access an NHS running at full capacity.’ She adds: ‘Hopefully, the extra funding will help ease backlogs in treatment and reassure people that support is available.’
Zurich paid claims totalling £222million in the first half of this year – £18 million being Covid related. On critical illness cover, the main trigger for a claim was cancer (41 per cent), with breast cancer alone accounting for 14 per cent of all claims. Startlingly, the average age of a breast cancer claimant was just 32.
Useful addresses: Breast Cancer Support, breastcancer-charity.org; Cancer Research UK, cancerresearchuk.org; Prostate Cancer UK, prostatecanceruk.org. jeff.prestridge@mailonsunday.co.uk