Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:41 pm on 17 July 2018.
As somebody who is married to somebody who works for Macmillan, I'm lobbied on a daily basis in terms of the way cancer is dealt with in Wales. And I can say there is no clinical evidence at all to suggest that a 28-day target would work. Where has that come from? Where is the clinical evidence to say that 28 days is some kind of golden figure? Politicians love these figures, but, in reality, I don't see any clinical evidence for it.
There are the issues—[Interruption.] There's no point shouting. If you asked the question, I'll answer the question for you now.
Part of the problem is a reluctance in some areas for people come forward early, and that doesn't help. We need to make sure that all GPs are referring as quickly as possible, because access to treatment is the same for everyone. It's simply a question of encouraging people to come forward as early as possible and for GPs to refer as quickly as possible. And that is something that is hugely important in terms of the campaigns that we have run in terms of raising awareness of different types of cancer, because we know if people are asked to check their symptoms, they are more likely to present early, and that's the way to make sure that more people not just are cured of cancer, but live with cancer, making sure that people are aware of the different types of cancers and their symptoms. And the work that Macmillan does is exactly that. Part of their work is to raise awareness of different cancers and provide evidence to people. They will be at the Royal Welsh Show. One of the themes they've had at the Royal Welsh Show is they have dealt with skin cancer, melanoma, especially with a show that's held in the summer, and they focus very, very strongly on people identifying cancer at an early stage themselves, or what may be the symptoms of cancer, so they can present and so, then, of course, they can have a better outcome.