Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day 2024

11th January 2024

Guts UK is a founding charity member of the Less Survivable Taskforce (LSCT). The LSCT was set up by a group of charities all aiming to double survival rates of the six less survivable cancers by 2029. These are stomach, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver, brain & lung cancer, with an average five-year survival rate of just 16%.

The less survivable cancers have been neglected and underfunded for decades and are difficult to diagnose. Screening programmes are limited or non-existent and most of the general public have a dangerously low awareness of symptoms.

Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day 2024 sees the release of findings based on world survival rates of these less survivable cancers. UK survival rates rank among the worst in the world.

The data looks at five year survival rates after diagnosis.

Out of 33 countries, that are comparable to the UK in wealth and income levels, the UK ranks:

28th for stomach and lung cancer
26th for pancreatic cancer
For brain cancer: 25th
For liver cancer: 21st
For oesophageal cancer: 16th

Over 90,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with one of the less survivable cancers each year and make up nearly half of all the common cancer deaths in the UK annually. If those diagnosed in the UK survived at the same rate as some of the highest surviving countries, over 8,000 lives would be saved annually.

The LSCT is calling for all UK governments to commit to increasing survival rates for less survivable cancers to 28% by 2029 by eliminating avoidable delays in diagnosis and proactively investing in research and treatment options.

It’s high time to address the reasons behind the UK’s lethal gap in survival. Less survivable cancers are difficult to diagnose which can lead to delayed diagnosis and slow access to treatment.

Yesterday, we attended Westminster, alongside families affected by these cancers. We highlighted the discrepancy in the survival rates for these cancers and called for changed. We called for government cancer policies and plans to include specific actions for those with less survivable cancers. We called for actions to be taken now.

Research into the deadliest digestive cancers is a priority for Guts UK. We’re funding research aiming to diagnose these cancers earlier, and save lives.

You can save lives by donating today. Thank you.