Child Cancer

Debate between Ben Howlett and Seema Kennedy

Monday 28th November 2016 Westminster Hall

[Ben Howlett]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman. There is a multitude of different organisations out there to help at the point when a diagnosis is received, but of course that should not distract from the fact that the Government also need to look at early intervention to support the family of a child when the child receives a diagnosis. I hope that the Minister will mention that when responding to the debate.

I am the MP for Bath, which is in the south-west, and I pay personal tribute to the great work done by the Children’s Hospice South West, which serves my constituency and others across the entire region. The hospice’s dedication and the service it provides in the final days of a child’s life is tremendous. I thank the hospice on behalf of my constituents for all the work that it does.

Research and funding are obviously critical. Evidence has been submitted throughout the course of the discussions around this issue. I am sure that all colleagues in this House will welcome the fact that the number of children dying from cancer each year in the UK has fallen in the last 20 years, but one child dying is obviously far too many. Research has been at the heart of the progress made, helping more children to survive cancer than ever before, but as I said, childhood cancer remains the biggest killer by disease of children in the western world.

[Seema Kennedy (South Ribble) (Con)]

My hon. Friend rightly mentions research and progress. I intervene briefly to speak about my constituent, Paula Adair, whose daughter, Katy Holmes, died in 2012 of a diffuse pontine glioma. Paula made the point to me that Katy received the same treatment that Neil Armstrong’s daughter had received nearly 40 years before, showing that there had not been adequate progress on these terrible diseases.

[Ben Howlett]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention, and I pay tribute to her and to other colleagues for championing cases such as that one in their work as constituency MPs. She makes an incredibly important point. Months ago, I took part in another Petitions Committee debate in relation to brain tumours and it is quite clear to me that the rarer a cancer is, the less attention is paid to the funding of research to find the underlying causes. There has been a change during the last few months and years, with more attention focused on some of the rarer cancers, but there is still a long way to go. I hope that some of the major progress made on the more common cancers, such as prostate cancer and breast cancer, and the evidence gathered can be applied to some of the rarer cancers as medical technology improves.

Approximately 3,800 children and young people in the UK are diagnosed with cancer each year, and approximately 260 children in the UK die each year from cancer before their 15th birthday. For those who survive, there are often lifelong treatment-related health problems to be dealt with. In addition, as the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mark Tami) made clear, there are also the ongoing costs in relation to the treatment and support for the families as well throughout the entire process. To be frank, we must do an awful lot more.