Alyn and Deeside MP backs campaign to ensure cancer services ‘catch up with cancer’ in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic
Mark Tami is backing a campaign to ensure cancer services ‘catch up with cancer’ in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alyn and Deeside Member of Parliament Mark Tami was invited to support the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign by a constituent.
The campaign was launched by Craig and Mandy Russell with the campaigning group Radiotherapy4Life. Craig and Mandy’s daughter, Kelly, suffered from bowel cancer and died aged just 31 after her cancer treatment was disrupted by the Covid-19 response.
Mark has been happy to support the campaign by signing the Catch Up with Cancer Early Day Motion (EDM) and pledging his support on the campaign website.
The EDM asks that the House of Commons recognises that experts widely predict the UK could be set to lose tens of thousands of lives unnecessarily to cancer as a result of the cancer backlog caused because of the NHS’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
I was happy to sign the #CatchUpWithCancer EDM, add my name to the website and write to our health minister to make sure we have the resources needed to catch up with cancer. pic.twitter.com/SwHjpc5a0B
— Mark Tami MP (@MarkTamiMP) July 21, 2020
The EDM welcomes Catch Up with Cancer’s calls for an emergency response and national effort to get all cancer services, from diagnostic through to cancer treatments and trials, back up and running with immediate effect. It also calls for the implementation of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Radiotherapy’s six point plan to transform radiotherapy and bring in a full cancer recovery plan.
“The Covid-19 situation has been unprecedented and some disruption to cancer services was sadly inevitable,” said Mark Tami MP.
“However, as we can see from the very sad case of Kelly Russell, the UK Conservative Government’s pledge to get cancer services back to normal by the end of the year simply isn’t enough.
“Experts are warning that up to 35,000 cancer patients may die as a result of disruptions and delays to cancer treatments. Extra resources are urgently needed to ensure that cancer services catch up with cancer and no lives are lost unnecessarily.”
In Wales, health is the remit of the Welsh Labour Government, who earlier this year launched a campaign to highlight the importance of continuing to access essential cancer services.
Richard Pugh, Head of Partnerships for Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales and Chair of the Wales Cancer Alliance welcomed the message that those with symptoms should not hesitate to seek help.
Public Health Wales also announced it is recommencing screening for cervical, breast and bowel cancer.
Mr Tami, who is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Radiotherapy and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer, has written to Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething seeking assurances that Wales has the resources needed to ‘catch up with cancer’.
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