Thank you for contacting me about support for people affected by leukaemia/blood cancer.
Over recent years, it has been promising to see improvements in survival for some blood cancers – including chronic myeloid leukaemia at 85 per cent - but action is clearly needed to drive better outcomes for people living with other blood cancers such as acute myeloid leukaemia myeloma. I am also concerned that five-year survival for blood cancer in the UK currently lags behind similar nations.
There are several challenges to improving outcomes for blood cancer and leukaemia patients, particularly around recruiting patients to clinical trials and patients accessing NHS-approved drugs. I echo the concerns raised by Blood Cancer UK that the Government must do more to increase data and information sharing within the NHS to improve diagnosis, and I shall be paying close attention to see how the Government’s plans for improved data sharing will work in practice.
In many cases, the centralisation of specialist services has led to better outcomes, but I know that people in more rural areas often face significant travel distances to access treatment. I am happy to work with patient groups such as Blood Cancer UK, Leukaemia Care or Leukaemia UK to better understand barriers to blood cancer patients accessing care.
As part of the forthcoming National Cancer Plan, the Government must set out a clear strategy and goals for improving the diagnosis, treatment and survival for rare and less common cancers, including myeloma. I will be holding Ministers accountable for improving outcomes for people with myeloma during this Parliament.
My colleagues in the Shadow Health team have supported the Rare Cancers Bill since it was introduced. I am pleased that the Government also agreed to support the Bill, which has allowed it to progress and significantly increase the likelihood that it will become law. The Bill has now been passed to the House of Lords where it will be scrutinised by Peers over the next few months.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
