In announcing her proposed #cancer strategy for the UK, which is designed to save 55,000 lives over the next decade, Prime Minister Theresa May spoke hauntingly of the loss of her goddaughter to cancer, and saluted Housing Secretary James Brokenshire, whose lung cancer diagnosis prompted his resignation from the cabinet. Listening to her speech, it was impossible not to feel the PM’s pain, reminding us all of someone we know whose life has been affected by cancer. [see report in The Telegraph]
But Mrs May’s recent speech, timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service (NHS), was not meant solely to tug at our emotional heartstrings. She used her platform to remind the public that the UK lags behind other countries in terms of cancer survival, and to announce a range of initiatives designed to improve and expand #cancerscreening, prevention, and treatment. Ms. May crucially highlighted early diagnosis as crucial to improving cancer survival rates, noting that anticancer therapy can be more effective when started earlier in the course of the disease.
