The postcode lottery for beating cancer revealed (From The Argus)

Sussex hard hit in cancer postcode lottery

7:00am Saturday 12th January 2013 in News By Ben James

An extra one out of every 13 NHS cancer patients survive the disease in plush areas of London compared to those in Sussex, new figures reveal.

The postcode lottery for survival of the disease has been revealed following a release from the Office for National Statistics.

The first year after diagnosis survival rates for primary care trusts in Sussex are consistently below the national average.

Older population Across the country 67.7 per cent of 15 to 99-year-olds are expected to live for at least 12 months following diagnosis.

However in Brighton and Hove just 64.75 per cent survive with East and West Sussex only slightly better with 65.5 per cent and 66.2 per cent.

The highest survival rate in the country was in Westminster with 73 per cent - some 8.25 per cent higher than Brighton and Hove.

That difference is even higher in the 75 to 99-year-old category.

Falling behind

The national average is 54.8 per cent with Brighton and Hove, East and West Sussex again behind with 52.5 per cent, 53.4 per cent and 53.2 per cent.

Meanwhile those living in the Westminster area of London have a 10.7 per cent better chance of survival than those in Brighton and Hove.

Dr Linda Garvican, the public health director for Sussex Cancer Network, put the lower than average survival rate down to the county’s large elderly population.

She added: “Older people with cancer are more likely to be diagnosed late or to have other illnesses which restrict treatment options and lower their chances.

Awareness campaigns

“We have been running public awareness campaigns to help people know when to go to their GP.

“For example the breast cancer campaign for older women in which the key message is that one in three women who get breast cancer are over 70, so don’t assume you’re past it’.

“We also continue to work with GPs to help them recognise the signs of cancer in older people.”

Overall cancer survival rates are up on 14 years ago.

Nationally, the one year from diagnosis survival rate has gone from 59.7 per cent in 1996 to 67.7 per cent in 2010.

In East and West Sussex the improvement was less dramatic, going from 59.7 per cent to 65.5 per cent and 61.7 per cent to 66.2 per cent respectively.

Brighton and Hove enjoyed an 8.7 percentage point increase between 1996 and 2010.

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