Cancer crisis should be national priority – The Yorkshire Post says

Yet, while this decision was taken in the best interests of patients and a desire to curtail the spread of the virus, the consequence is a backlog of cancer cases which has compromised the prognosis of many sufferers.

Waiting lists that risk undoing all the work that has taken place to speed up the diagnosis and treatment of cancer so patients have the best possible chance of making a full recovery, they still demand, despite recent improvements, the level of political attention promised by Health Minister Jo Churchill, herself a breast cancer survivor.

For, while oncologists have continued treating patients during the latest lockdown and restrictions, they were under-staffed before Covid struck and they’re even more stretched as they try and provide the very best treatment for all those in their care.

But it’s more complicated than this – the fear of Covid, and long waits, is deterring people from coming forward to check out symptoms for cancer and other serious illnesses. And, with so many GPs unwilling to see patients in person, the risk is patients, in particular the elderly, leaving it too late to seek medical guidance.

By then, it could – in some cases – be too late. Yes, The Yorkshire Post appreciates that there are no straightforward cures – but the public interest demands a far more robust plan of action to ensure Covid is not superseded by a cancer epidemic in the new year.

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