Thank you to everyone who has been in touch about breast cancer and to those who shared their personal experiences with me.
I sympathise profoundly with all those affected by breast cancer, whether facing a diagnosis themselves or supporting a loved one. We must tackle this cruel disease and ensure patients get diagnosed and treated faster and more efficiently.
I look forward to the publication of the National Cancer Plan later this year and am pleased that preventing cancer will be one of its areas of focus. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention and research. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to improve the experience and outcomes of patients.
I know it is a priority for the Government to support the NHS to diagnose cancer, including breast cancer, as early and as quickly as possible. To support early detection and diagnosis, the NHS in England carries out approximately two million breast cancer screens each year in hospitals and mobile screening vans, usually in convenient community locations.
I welcome that the NHS is planning to publish a Breast Screening Programme Uptake Improvement Plan to help improve uptake and address inequalities. NHS England also launched a national breast screening campaign, which ran across television, radio, social media and outdoor advertising earlier this year. The campaign targeted women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend appointments.
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those diagnosed with both primary and secondary breast cancer. To assess the adequacy of existing treatment options for people with secondary breast cancer, NHS England funded an audit into primary and metastatic breast cancer. The audit looks at what is being done well, where it is being done well and what needs to be done better. I am pleased the NHS is now acting on the findings.
Research is crucial in tackling cancer, and I welcome that research and innovation will be key focuses of the National Cancer Plan. In February, Ministers announced that nearly 700,000 women will take part in a world-leading trial to test how cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier. The trial is backed by £11 million of Government support via the National Institute for Health and Care Research – the Department of Health and Social Care’s research delivery arm.
Thank you once again to those who contacted me about this important issue.