Early cancer detections saved my life twice says Minister Jo
CORONAVIRUS: HEALTH CONCERNS
EXCLUSIVE
AN MP has urged all Britons to get any niggling health issue checked out in case it is cancer – the disease she has survived twice.
Public health minister Jo Churchill said she only beat it by getting an early diagnosis on both occasions.
The Conservative MP said: “My message to Daily Express readers is help us to help you. For me early diagnosis on more than one occasion means I am here.
“Please, seek help if you have symptoms or if you’re concerned you might be at greater risk.
“The NHS will be there for you, just as it always is, and just as it always has been.”
She spoke after this newspaper laid bare the impact the pandemic has had on cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Macmillan Cancer Support estimates 50,000 people have contracted cancer during lockdown but have not had a diagnosis.
The backlog to find and treat cases could take a further 18 months to tackle in England alone.
Unrelated
Ms Churchill, 56, who is Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care, was struck down with thyroid cancer in 1995 at the age of 31.
Speaking previously she said: “As a cancer patient, it’s an emotional tsunami. You don’t ask for cancer: it finds you and it’s frightening.”
The mum of four had successful surgery to remove most of her thyroid and is now on medication for side-effects.
But in 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer – unrelated to the earlier episode – when a scan revealed a tumour in her right breast. She said: “I want to say it loud and clear the NHS is still open for everyone who needs it.
“So, I would urge you to come forward if you have concerns about something. For example, if you have a persistent
‘Get it checked’ ...Jo Churchill and, above, a breast scan
cough, which is one of the three key Covid symptoms, it can also be a sign of lung cancer if it continues. The earlier any cancer is diagnosed, the more effective the treatment can be.”
Around 367,000 Britons are diagnosed with cancer in a year – equal to 1,000 a day. Some 165,000 die. Before
Christmas the Express told how the fight against cancer was dealt a huge blow when Cancer Research UK had to slash research funding by £45million.The charity said the hit was exacerbated by the pandemic.
It confirmed there would now be 92 fewer research projects and 328 fewer researchers racing to find cures. Further cuts are planned in the spring.
Professor Karol Sikora, oncologist, Daily Express columnist and former director of the World Health