Dr Neil Hudson MP joined Breast Cancer Now - the research and support charity - at their No Time to Waste Parliamentary Drop-In to boost the breast cancer screening uptake across the UK.
With his scientific and clinical background, Dr Hudson understands just how critical preventative medicine is, particularly when it comes to how we spend Government monies to deliver public health programmes.
Indeed breast screenings save women's lives. Screening can find most breast cancers early, at stage 1, when survival is almost 100%
However, unfortunately latest NHS England screening data shows that uptake remains below target. To make sure cancer screening is at the heart of Government's healthcare plans now and in the future, Dr Hudson joined charity experts and parliamentarians at an event to raise awareness for breast cancer screening programmes.
An estimated 1,300 lives from breast cancer are saved every year through routine breast screening, and research shows that if we increased uptake to 80% (an achievable target according to BCN) we would not only see more lives saved but also a net cost saving to the UK economy in the next ten years in the range of £96m to £111m and wellbeing cost savings at £1.2bn.
This also presents a risk to women’s health and widening health inequalities. Poor attendance means thousands fewer cases of breast cancer being found each year, particularly in women from underserved groups where screening uptake is lower. As you know, these women are more likely to be diagnosed later, and less likely to survive.
Early diagnosis is also a critical to patient outcomes for other common cancers including cervical, bowel and prostate.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"I would urge anyone eligible for NHS cancer screenings to take it up as soon as possible.
"Early detection saves the taxpayer money, supports our brilliant NHS and most importantly saves lives. I thank Breast Cancer Now for their incredible work in this sector and will continue to help them however possible moving forward.
"There is not time to waste."
