Liz Lynne launches MEPs Against Cancer

7.25.25pm GMT Wed 30th Nov 2005

MEPs Against Cancer (MAC) is launched today in Brussels. The all-party group aims to make cancer an EU priority by increasing awareness among both MEPs and MPs in Member States.

Co-chair of the group and Lib Dem MEP for the West Midlands, Liz Lynne, (pictured) said:

"This is a very positive day, we hope to achieve a great deal in MAC. The message is simple: Immediate action must be taken in the EU in order to reduce cancer rates.

"There are preventable cancers and treatable ones which can be eradicated if caught early enough. At the present time, too many people are dying because of poor screening and treatment standards.

"By working together to share ideas and best practice, improved screening and treatment can be spread throughout Europe, closing the gaps which currently exist within and between Member States."

ENDS.

Notes to Editor

In 2004, 3 million Europeans living in the 25 EU member states were diagnosed with cancer. Every day nearly 5500 Europeans are diagnosed with cancer and over 3000 die from the disease.

By 2003, 154,547 people had died from Cancer in the United Kingdom (UK). Cancer is the cause of more than a quarter (26%) of all deaths in the UK.

While cancer accounts for an increasing proportion of deaths in the UK, cancer mortality rates have dropped by 11% over the last ten years. There have been large falls in the mortality rates for cancers of the cervix, stomach, bowel, lung and breast which, combined, account for 45% of deaths from cancer in the UK. The main reasons for falls in mortality are the primary prevention of cancer, earlier detection and better treatment. (Source: Cancer Research UK)

Related Link:

Get a copy of MEPs Against Cancer information.