I’m very pleased to take part in this debate. Lung cancer is a huge challenge for the health service in Wales, as it is throughout the UK and throughout the world, but I think it’s very important to remember that progress can be made and is being achieved. I think you’ve only got to look back on the survival rates for other cancers. Do you remember what it was like for breast cancer a relatively short time ago? The survival rates for breast cancer have dramatically improved. Every small step that is taken with lung cancer takes us forward to getting much better survival rates. I think we’re all aware that many cancers now have become chronic diseases, that many people live with cancer, and that is the position I think we must be moving towards, and we are moving towards, with lung cancer.

I work very closely with Velindre cancer centre in Cardiff North in my constituency, and they’ve highlighted for me the opportunities that are available with the new treatments for lung cancer and the improvements brought about by research and by access to national clinical trials. I think it’s important to remember as well, when we do talk about lung cancer, that there are different types of lung cancer. But examples of the new drug treatments for lung cancer, which are going to be made available in Wales over the next few months for the different types of lung cancer include crizotinib, which, in September 2016, was approved by NICE, and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group approved osimertinib in October. That was only last month; these are two very recent approvals. Pemetrexed maintenance has now been approved by NICE in August, and we will soon have that available. So, it is very exciting that we have these new developments for treatment.

Patients at Velindre also benefit from access to clinical trials and increased opportunities to have treatments such as the matrix clinical trial, which is about delivering personalised targeted medicine, based on genetic testing of their cancer. These are all developments that are happening very swiftly, and we must make sure that we are able to take advantage of them, as I know that we are, and with the new treatment fund that the Welsh Government is committed to, access to new drugs will certainly be helped.

I think it’s also important to say that we do carry out outstanding research in Wales. I wanted to highlight just something that has come from Velindre in my constituency. PhD students from Velindre have carried out research that has led to cell-free DNA testing for lung cancer patients, and that’s using blood tests instead of biopsies. This testing is done for English patients as well as Welsh patients and is carried out in Cardiff, in the regional genetic hub. So, I think it’s important; we don’t want to talk ourselves down. This really innovative stuff is happening in Wales and it’s important that we do acknowledge it.

So, there are encouraging developments, but we all know that the key issue is prevention and early diagnosis, which has been well aired here today. I think it is accepted that there is a link between smoking and lung cancer, and I congratulate the Welsh Government on its work to reduce smoking and to prevent young people from taking it up in the first place, because I think that that is vital—and to protect them from second-hand smoke. I think the legislation that has been carried out in these particular areas has been absolutely groundbreaking. It’s really transformed the health service. I am particularly pleased that from 1 October 2015 it was illegal to smoke in private vehicles when someone under the age of 18 was present. I’m looking forward very much to the public health Bill, when we know that cigarette smoking will be further restricted in parks, hospital premises and other areas. This has all gone along with the agreement and support of the public.

So, we have been working on prevention. We do need to have early diagnosis, and I also am very pleased that we saw the launch of the Be Clear on Cancer campaign to help raise awareness on lung cancer by diagnosing and treating lung cancer earlier. So, there was a lot of work going on, and I’d like just to end, really, by thanking the Welsh Government for its big commitment to developing the new cancer treatment centre at Velindre, where there is a huge amount of capital going in to ensure that the sort of services that we will be able to offer to all cancer patients, including lung cancer patients, who have to go into hospital as in-patients will be having first-class treatment.