UK cancer survival rates are too low – our priorities are all wrong | Mark Dayan
by Mark Dayan from on (#4Q8J2)
Short-termism has hampered investment in equipment and staffing that could help the NHS keep people alive
" Mark Dayan is a policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust
" Mark Dayan is a policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust
Cancer survival rates in the UK have long lagged behind those in other countries of comparable wealth and income levels. And an international study published this week shows that while the UK is making rapid progress, there's still a big gap in the survival rates cancer patients can expect in Britain compared with countries such as Australia, Canada and Norway.
The good news is that the outlook for patients suffering from major forms of cancer has got much better. On an age standardised basis, fewer than half of patients with rectal cancer in the UK lived more than five years in 1995. By 2014, more than 60% did.
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