Tom Gordon urges Government to ensure the new National Cancer Plan “delivers for the whole country”
During Yorkshire Cancer Research’s 100th anniversary year, Tom Gordon has hosted the local Harrogate-based charity in parliament for the launch of their new white rose report. The report focuses on the challenges involved in fighting cancer in Yorkshire, particularly the disparity of funding. Yorkshire receives about 5% of funding for cancer research, despite accounting for 8% of the population. 9 of 13 areas of Yorkshire have a higher mortality rate from cancer than the national average, and in 7 areas you are more likely to have cancer than in most of the country. Currently, 1 in 2 cancers in Yorkshire are diagnosed at a late stage, when cancer is often harder to treat
The report comes as the Government develops a new National Cancer Plan, aimed at fighting cancer and expanding and supporting research to save more lives. The report includes a number of recommendations to help the fight against cancer in Yorkshire, including expanding automatic enrolment in smoking cessation services, increasing innovation in screening programmes, expanding support for patients, before, during and after treatment, and for the new National Cancer Plan to adopt the charity’s ROSE model – Rapid implementation, Optimising research, Systematic Evaluation and Equitable funding.
Tom chaired the report launch on behalf of Yorkshire Cancer Research. He welcomed the attending MPs, from across Yorkshire and the country more widely. The MPs were also joined by a number of experts, from Yorkshire and elsewhere, to discuss the issues they face in their work, as well as the life-saving and groundbreaking work they are doing to expand our knowledge of cancer and ability to fight it.
Commenting, Tom said:
“Watching my mum suffer through breast cancer was awful. Fortunately, she had a good outcome and she’s still with us, but we know that people in Yorkshire are disproportionately more likely to be diagnosed later and have difficulty accessing treatment compared to elsewhere in the UK.
“I saw firsthand how critical support, timely treatment and local services are to people. It’s vital to ensure that no one is left behind when it comes to cancer care. This report is emblematic of the North-South divide we still have in England – whether it comes to health, education or transport.
“Having been born and bred in Yorkshire, I’m really passionate about making sure we get our fair share from Government and ensure that people in Yorkshire aren’t facing worse outcomes simply because of a postcode lottery.”
ENDS
