Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support people living with cancer during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

Essential and urgent cancer treatment and care will continue during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

People with certain cancers and those who have received or are receiving certain treatments are at higher risk if they catch COVID-19. The Government has advised around 200,000 cancer patients who are particularly vulnerable to stay at home for 12 weeks to minimise their risk of infection, by following Public Health England guidance which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

People with cancer who are not at highest risk should still take precautions to reduce their risk of infection by staying at home, avoiding people who are unwell, washing their hands regularly and carefully following the social distancing measures in place.

People can still attend hospital for essential appointments, and cancer teams are finding ways to reduce the need for them to leave their homes wherever possible, for example offering telephone or video consultations.