Gareth Johnson MP welcomes Government support for Cancer Patients
Date: Tue 3rd January 2012
3rd January 2012
Gareth Johnson MP welcomes Government support for Cancer Patients
“Cancer Research UK has recently published statistics on cancer rates in Dartford and these statistics paint a mixed picture” said Gareth Johnson MP for Dartford.
The number of people in West Kent diagnosed with cancer each year is below the national average and the number of people dying under the age of 75 of cancer in Dartford is similar to the national average. However Smoking rates in Dartford are at 26 % as opposed to the national average of 22% and the one year cancer survival rate is 65% which is lower than the English average of 66.5%.
Gareth said “Cancer Research estimate that 1 in 3 people will get cancer at some point in their life and so we need to ensure that as much as possible is done to educate people on lifestyle factors and also to provide the best possible care for those facing the disease. In recognition of this, I am pleased that the Government is investing £750million over the next four years to help the NHS improve cancer survival rates. The ambition is to save at least an additional 5,000 lives per year by 2014/15.”
The Government is also making the newest cancer drugs available through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). This will help cancer patients to get access to the cancer drugs they need. To date, this fund has benefitted over 7,500 patients already.
ENDS
For further information contact Gareth Johnson on 0207 219 7047 or at [email protected]
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