Some of the Cancer Research UK range (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dr Alf is right on all counts, and to set matters in context, the incidence of cancer in the UK is now 1 in 2. Up from 1 in 80 in 1934, and our population is now in excess of 70 million, some 30 million more than it was at the end of World War II.
Set against these figures, UK cancer treatment outcomes are going backwards, which is why Germany, France, Italy and Singapore all have far better treatment outcomes for cancers.
In addition, they and even China have a far lower percentage of people getting cancer in the first place.
The NHS is once again well behind the “8 ball”, with its performance and initiatives being overtaken by events.
Part of the solution lies with better education of the public in terms of diet, stress management, exposure to environmental factors and carcinogens which cause cancer and of course lifestyles. On each of these areas the Government, employers, the NHS, local authorities and the medical profession as represented by the BMA, the RCN and others are all failing to do their jobs.
The public almost to a man or woman are failing to educate themselves and by so doing ensuring their early and often very painful demise or at best weeks, months and years of painful and often out of date treatments with all the attendant ills of disabilities, loss of job, inability to work again, loss of faculties and loss of income.
There is a better way but that requires the UK political classes to face reality and risk the disapproval of the UK public. Otherwise, what’s the point of government if all they want is to popular?
Dr Alf's Blog 