Matt Black is someone with first-hand experience of how the type of cancer you get makes a huge difference.
In 2019 the 60-year-old lost his sister, Harriette, to pancreatic cancer, 20 years after his father-in-law died of oesophageal cancer.
Five years ago he was diagnosed with bowel cancer which has above average survival rates. Soon after developing symptoms he had surgery and was given the all-clear.
“NHS staff do an amazing job, but it’s such a difficult time to be a cancer patient, especially for those with cancers which aren’t easy to spot or treat.
“It’s so important that there is more research and support for cancer services here, so that more people can be as fortunate as me,” says Matt.
The researchers also warned that, while overall survival was still improving, the rate of progress had slowed during the 2010s. Longer waits for diagnosis and treatment are thought to be partly to blame.
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said: “Thanks to research, most patients today are far more likely to survive cancer than at any other point in the past.
“But the reality is that this progress is slowing – and for some cancers it never got going in the first place.”
The charity wants the government’s forthcoming strategy to focus on:
cutting waiting times
early detection, including full introduction of a lung cancer screening programme
investment in research, particularly targeting the most deadly cancers
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said cancer care was a priority. with some progress already made on waiting times.
“The national cancer plan will set out how we will improve survival rates further and address the unacceptable variation between different cancer types,” he added.