Improving Lung Cancer Outcomes

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:58 pm on 23 October 2018.

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Photo of Mohammad Asghar Mohammad Asghar Conservative 1:58, 23 October 2018

Thank you very much for the reply, Minister. Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in Wales, but it is responsible for the majority of cancer-related deaths. Like all cancers, it can be effectively treated or survival can be improved if diagnosed early. However, only 16 per cent of patients in Wales are diagnosed at stage 1. NHS England recently rolled out a one-stop shop designed to catch cancer early and speed up diagnosis. The centres act as a point of referral for people with vague, non-specific symptoms that their GP or healthcare professional suspects may be cancer. These centres have proved effective at identifying potential lung cancer patients before symptoms appear and before the cancer has advanced or set in the body. Will the Minister agree to consider introducing such a one-stop shop here, so that Wales will no longer have the poorest survival rates of all United Kingdom nations?