Saturday 20 November 2010

Cancer Research UK Lobby of Parliament

The Objective of the Cancer Research UK Lobby of Parliament on Wednesday 3rd November 2010 was to ask that doctors should be:

1. granted increased access to diagnostic tests &

2. asked to record accurate data on the Stage at which Patients' cancers are diagnosed.

Despite the London-wide tube strike, over 70 Ambassadors joined the Lobby. Taxis were provided for us at the main London Railway Stations, so I joined Jean & Jim (from Bingley) & Tom (from Sleaford) in a cab from Kings Cross to the Lobby Headquarters in Great Smith Street, Westminster.

The Ambassadors' briefing included talks from Harpal Kumar (Chief Executive), Sarah Woolnough (Head of Policy) & an ex-MP, Lord Willis of Knaresborough. The focus of these talks - &, indeed, of the whole day - was very much on Early Diagnosis.

Cancer is not one disease (there are 200 different types of cancer ... that makes 200 problems) & each cancer is individual, even within the same type. Cancer Research UK is the only UK charity dedicated to beating ALL types of cancer & gets no Government money. Only by funding research into both the rare & the more common cancers will everyone have a chance.

We were told the most powerful meetings MPs can have is with their constituents & that the Lobby should be about winning the hearts & minds of our MPs.

Although survival rates overall have doubled over the past 40 years, the UK's cancer outcomes are poorer than those of our international neighbours. Sweden, Finland & parts of Germany, France, Canada & Australia have better outcomes than ours. With the rarer "Unmet Needs" cancers (some examples given were; Oesophageal Cancer, Endometrial Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer), improvements in the survival rates are not so high. As we were told, "We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go."

In the UK, 260 MPs have pledged to the Cancer Research UK's "Commit to Beat Cancer" campaign, to:

- detect cancer earlier
- provide world class cancer treatment
- prevent more cancers
- tackle cancer inequalities
- protect the UK's research base

There are so many different symptoms for different cancers & it is clear that we need to increase awareness as well as changing the culture which leads people to delay seeking medical advice; British reserve? We mustn't bother the doctor? - Pah!!

After the briefings, batches of Ambassadors congregated to walk across Parliament Square – past the entrenched anti-war protesters – towards the Palace of Westminster.

My MP, Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green), was not in Westminster on the 3rd, but a neighbouring MP, Glenda Jackson (Hampstead & Kilburn), was kind enough to agree to being lobbied by Lynne's Ambassadors as well as by her own. I found her rather intimidating initially (okay, I admit it - my nerves got the better of me & I froze momentarily) but she quickly thawed & proved to be a compassionate & gracious lady. She confirmed she was very happy to put our requests to Government, to write to the Secretary of State for Health & to table questions in the House on our behalf - but she was equally keen not to raise "false hopes".

The whole day was the most wonderful & inspiring experience & I'm so proud to have had the opportunity to be a part of it.

My greatest achievement? I got Cholangiocarcinoma mentioned in the Corridors of Power at least twice ... soon I hope no one will be able to say they haven't heard of it.

Cancer Research UK's Chief Executive, Harpal Kumar summed up the day beautifully; "Together, we WILL beat cancer".

(For a slide show of the Lobby, the link is http://www.cancercampaigns.org.uk/ambassadors/westminsterlobby/ )