§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents of skin cancer there have been in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made(a) to determine the causes of skin cancer and (b) to determine the action needed to reduce the incidence of skin cancer. [147936]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonData on the number of incidents of skin cancer overall are not available in the form requested. Cancer registrations for non-melanoma skin cancer are unreliable and incomplete as the registers are being continuously updated retrospectively.
The number of registrations of newly diagnosed cases of malignant melanoma of the skin in the United Kingdom for each of the last five years are shown in the table.
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Registrations of newly diagnosed cases for skin cancer in the United Kingdom, 1996–20001 Malignant melanoma of the skin2 1996 5,700 1997 6,000 1998 6,100 1999 6,000 2000 7,000 1 Figures rounded to nearest 100. 2 International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10)code C43 Sources:
1. Office for National Statistics.
2. Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit.
3. Scottish Cancer Registry.
4. Northern Ireland Cancer Registry.
A new sun awareness initiative, SunSmart, was launched on 27 March 2003 by Cancer Research UK to make the public aware of the dangers of exposure to the sun. The campaign is based on the successful SunSmart campaign in Australia. The campaign has received funding from the United Kingdom Health Departments' this year. We will be providing further funding for the campaign for next summertime.
The campaign's aim is to increase the profile of the issue of skin cancer and methods of effective sun protection. The key objectives are to increase knowledge of the causes of skin cancer, to increase awareness of actions that can be taken to prevent skin cancer and to influence positively attitudes to sun protection.
The Department has separately developed the SunSafe web pages in 2002, designed with children in mind. These are available on the Department's website at: www.doh.gov.uk/sunsafe
Information is also contained on the Wired For Health website at: www.wiredforhealth.gov.uk/teaching/sun/intro.html
We continue to fund annually the Meteorological Office to provide the daily ultra-violet index in the media (television, radio, Meteorological Office website).
The Department also provides core funding to the National Radiological Protection Board, which provides expertise on ultra-violet radiation issues.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents of lung and cervical cancer there were in the North West in each of the last five years; and what action has been taken in the North West(a) to prevent cancer, (b) to inform the public about the causes of cancer, (c) to provide equipment and services to treat cancer and (d) to provide palliative care for patients who are terminally ill. [147937]
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§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe information requested on lung cancer and cervical cancer in the North West is shown in the tables.
1. Primary Diagnosis (ICD10 code C34) Lung Cancer: Finished in-year admission episodes by regional office of treatment—NHS hospitals in England, 1998–99 to 2002–03 North West Regional Office Unknown 1998–99 16,023 — 1999–2000 5,088 — 2000–01 5,878 — 2001–02 6,881 — 2002–03 7,299 1,163
2. Primary Diagnosis (ICD10 code C53) Cervical Cancer: Finished in-year admission episodes by regional office of treatment—NHS hospitals in England, 1998–99 to 2002–03 North West Regional Office Unknown 1998–99 2,415 — 1999–2000 672 — 2000–01 691 — 2001–02 718 — 2002–03 796 81 Notes:
1. Finished in-year admissions—a finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patent care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis) —The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 200–3) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
2. Grossing—figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2001–2002 and 2002–2003, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
source:
Hospital Episode Statics(HES), Department of health.
Information about the Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Network and its work can be found in its annual report, which is available on www.mccn.nhs.uk.