According to a report by Future Health, four in ten women with ovarian cancer are only diagnosed after an emergency trip to A&E. Over 70 percent of women with ovarian cancer are not diagnosed until the disease has reached an advanced stage (stage 3 or 4). The report states that 30 percent of women with ovarian cancer die within a year after diagnosis.
More than one in four women with advanced ovarian cancer receive no treatment at all, and more than a quarter of women with stage 2 to 4 ovarian cancer did not receive surgery or chemotherapy within nine months of diagnosis. Access to recommended platinum-based chemotherapy for ovarian cancer varies widely. Large differences exist between NHS Trusts in survival, treatment, and diagnosis rates for ovarian cancer.
The Government has set welcome ambitions through the National Cancer Plan to improve five year cancer survival rates. The picture painted by this research makes a strong case for ovarian cancer to be prioritised for action as the Plan is now rolled out across the NHS. Improvements in diagnosis and survival from ovarian cancer should be a litmus test for whether the Plan is delivering for patients.
In some parts of the country, the proportion of women diagnosed after an emergency admission was more than 20 percentage points higher than elsewhere. There was an almost 19-point gap in one-year survival rates between NHS Trusts for ovarian cancer. Campaigners allege that ovarian cancer is particularly dangerous because symptoms can be vague and easy to miss.
Researchers allege that ovarian cancer risks being left behind unless it is made a priority. The Government has published a new National Cancer Plan for England, which aims for 75 percent of cancer patients to survive for five years or more. Richard Sloggett, Programme Director at Future Health and report author, said: 'The Government has set welcome ambitions through the National Cancer Plan to improve five year cancer survival rates.
The picture painted by this research makes a strong case for ovarian cancer to be prioritised for action as the Plan is now rolled out across the NHS. ' Specific actions being taken by the NHS to address the 'postcode lottery' in ovarian cancer care have not been detailed. The timeline for implementing the National Cancer Plan's goals for ovarian cancer specifically is also unclear.