Cancer: Diagnosis

(asked on 29th March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase the number of sarcoma cancers that have been staged to track the NHS Long Term Plan’s target of having 75 per cent of all cancers diagnosed at stage one or two by 2028.


Answered by
Maria Caulfield Portrait
Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This question was answered on 6th April 2022

The ‘Help us help you’ encourages more people to consult their general practitioner if they experience symptoms which could be a sign of cancer. The current phase of the campaign focuses on the barriers to seeking advice, such as fear or anxiety, rather than on specific set symptoms. Previous phases of the campaign have included symptoms which could be indicative of sarcoma, such as abdominal discomfort or a persistent cough.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are committed to improving the completeness of staging data. The NHS England and NHS Improvement’s cancer programme is working with the National Disease Registration Service to identify trusts and tumour sites where staging data requires improvement.

Reticulating Splines