Cancer Services Action Plan

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:02 pm on 14 December 2022.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 3:02, 14 December 2022

Thanks very much, Huw, and can I thank you for the work that you and the CPG are doing on this really important area? Because one of the key things that we are conscious of all of the time in relation to health is inequality. So, why is it that some people are getting very different treatment? And obviously there's a link with deprivation, and we need to make sure that we're addressing that. So, it's one of the key things that we keep on looking at.

There are factors where, actually, we need to make sure that we're getting the right messaging to avoid cancer. So, obviously, we need to make sure people are cutting down on smoking, they need to be eating the right kinds of food, they need to be doing exercise, and actually we've got to make sure that that deprivation link is broken. I know that my colleague Lynne Neagle's doing a huge amount of work in this space to make sure the healthy eating programme, for example, is very targeted at some of those areas of greatest deprivation, and there is a link—let's be clear, there is a link with cancer. 

So, I'm pleased that we have the single cancer pathway and of course we also now have these rapid diagnostic centres around Wales.