Early warnings

摘要

Cancer is a devastating disease that results from numerous factors, including age, lifestyle and the genetic makeup of our family tree. More than 330,000 people in the UK were diagnosed with cancer in 2011 - equivalent to around 910 people a day1. There is some good news, though: the number of individuals surviving breast, prostate and skin cancers is improving, with five-year post-diagnosis survival rates of more than 80%. However, there is still a staggeringly low percentage of survival among the UK population with lung, oesophageal, brain, pancreatic and stomach cancers: post-diagnosis fewer than 21% are alive five years later.