UK lags behind Europe in 5-year cancer survival
A new independent study of 75 million cancer patients in 29 countries across Europe shows that the UK is lying well behind its peers in 5-year survival.
The study also shows that UK 5-year survival figures have hardly moved in the last decade, with only half of all UK cancer patients surviving 5 years. The UK lies tenth, with patients a third less likely to survive than those in Sweden.
The new data was presented at the European Cancer Congress in Vienna (September 2015) by Milena Sant of the Instituto-Nazionale del Tumori in Milan.
It shows the UK lagging behind its peers and more than 8% below the average, in figures that have been described at ’shameful’ by Chris Woollams. "They make a mockery of leading Cancer Charity claims that we are somehow beating cancer in the UK due to better drugs and earlier diagnosis. In my opinion, the preoccupation with drugs, radiotherapy and surgery at the expense of everything else, is stopping us moving forward. And the ridiculous outdated 1939 Cancer Act which stops the development of Integrated Medicine in cancer treatment by silencing Integrative Cancer practitioners, should be done away with immediately".
Sweden 64.7%
Belgium 60.4%
Austria 60.1%
Germany 59.1%
Norway 58.6%
France 58.6%
Netherlands 54.6%
Ireland 53.9%
Denmark 50.9%
UK 50.1%