Lung Cancer: Diagnosis
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the relationship between deprivation and lung cancer diagnosis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
We know that some cancers disproportionately impact those living in deprived areas, notably lung cancer. The Lung Cancer Screening Programme is designed to identify cancer at an earlier stage and is aimed at high-risk individuals or people with a history of smoking between the ages of 55 to 74 years old. The National Health Service is currently rolling out the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme to people with a history of smoking.
Additionally, reducing inequalities is a key priority for the National Cancer Plan, which will look at the targeted improvements needed across different cancer types to reduce disparities in cancer survival. This includes looking at protected characteristics, such as ethnicity, as well as inequalities related to socioeconomic status, and geographic location.
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