The rate of survival for cancer patients in Hampshire is still rising, new figures have revealed. 

NHS figures show 75.6 per cent of people diagnosed with cancer in 2020 survived the first year. This is up from a survival rate of 75.1 per cent in 2019 and an increase on 70 per cent a decade prior.

The data also shows the one-year survival rate for women with breast cancer in Hampshire, increased from 96.1 per cent in 2010 to 97.5 per cent in 2020.

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Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK chief executive, said despite the data showing improvements in cancer survival in England, there is still an "unacceptable" disparity across England.

She said: "Our chances of surviving cancer should not vary depending on where we live."

She added workforce shortages are a critical barrier in delivering timely diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients and called on the Government to publish a fully-costed workforce plan for England to improve staff recruitment and retainment.

The survival rate for colorectal cancer patients also rose from 79.6 per cent in 2010 to 81.5 per cent in 2020.

In addition, lung cancer patients' survival rate was 49.2 per cent in 2020 – an improvement from 35.3 per cent a decade prior.

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Matt Hayes, medical director for Wessex Cancer Alliance on behalf of Hampshire Integrated Care Board, said: “We are proud of our cancer workforce across Wessex and of their continued efforts to see, treat and diagnose their patients as quickly as possible at a time when they are also seeing a higher proportion of referrals for suspected cancer.

"We extend our thanks to them all because without such dedicated teams, these improved outcomes simply wouldn’t be possible.

“There is always more to do though and we continue to work hard to ensure that people are diagnosed sooner as we know this greatly improves chances of survival. We continue to ask our public to come forward for checks and tests if they have any concerns.”