Survey finds cancer still wrongly viewed as a death sentence
Less than a third of the public believe cancer is a disease that can be managed for years, a survey has found.
Focusing on finding a cure is overshadowing “huge” progress already being made allowing those with advanced cancer to live longer, says the Institute of Cancer Research.
Survival time from cancer has roughly doubled in a decade, and the average patient now lives more than ten years after being diagnosed.
But just 28 per cent of people believe the disease can be controlled in the long-term, according to a Yougov poll. In comparison, 46 per cent of people said they believed heart disease can be managed in the long term, and 77 per cent said the same for diabetes.
The survey also found that only a quarter of people think progress against cancer is being made. The ICR is calling for more attention to be given to cancer’s ability to resist treatment so that more people can live longer.
It says that cures are not yet possible for many people with advanced cancer, but personalised treatment is greatly extending their lives.
Only half of people questioned cancer evolution and drug resistance as one of the biggest challenges in cancer research and treatment.
And a third of the public and patient groups both wrongly believed that being given the “all-clear” means the disease has been cured when it actually means it is undetectable at present but could return.
The ICR is launching the world’s first “Darwinian” drug discovery programme within its new cancer centre aimed at increasing the proportion of patients whose disease can be controlled long-term.
Professor Paul Workman, ICR chief executive, said: “We believe it’s vital that we can take the public on this journey with us by understanding that cancer is a hugely complex and evolving disease, and that we need to move beyond the old, binary ‘cure or nothing’ thinking to find innovative new ways of treating the disease that can give people a longer and better life.
“The good news is that thanks to research we are already making great progress against cancer, with diseases that just a few years ago were lethal, now increasingly manageable for patients long term.
“If we can finish off cancer evolution, we will effectively finish cancer.”