CANCER BATTLE POSTCODE LINK

More die in north, say MPs

CANCER patients are more likely to survive in some areas of the UK than others, shock new figures reveal.

Government data shows that just 58.1% of women in the north with cervical cancer were still alive after five years.

But in London, the survival rate was 75%.

Some women are more than twice as likely to die from breast cancer under the age of 75 because of their postcode.

In some areas, just 62% of breast cancers are detected early, compared with 88% in other regions.

The damning report even found massive differences in survival rates depending on which part of certain towns people lived in.

The Office for National Statistics figures compared 1.2million diagnoses between 2011 and 2015 for 14 different types of cancer.

Timebomb

The report, commissioned by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer, claims women face “unacceptable differences” in breast cancer care depending on where they live.

In a joint statement, MPs Thangam Debonnaire, Craig Tracey and Dr Philippa Whitford said: “This variation in NHS services can have a devastating impact on patients’ lives and must be addressed.

“In particular, the demographic timebomb poses a worrying threat to the significant progress made in recent decades.

“We now urgently need to bring the worst performing areas in line with the best.”

The findings were also blasted as “totally unacceptable” by Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive of the charity Breast Cancer Now.

She said: “This crucial report highlights geographical variation in NHS breast cancer services on a worrying scale.

“All women with breast cancer deserve the best possible chance of surviving and living well – no matter where they live, their age or the colour of their skin.”