Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase (a) awareness of the symptoms, (b) diagnosis and (c) treatment of ovarian cancer in Shropshire.

The Department recognises that many cancer patients are left waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment, including for ovarian cancer. The Government will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive and have an improved experience across the system, including in Shropshire.

NHS England is taking a wide range of activity to increase awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. NHS England relaunched the Help Us Help You cancer campaign in 2024, to encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that could be cancer. Previous phases of the campaign have focused on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can indicate ovarian cancer. NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including ovarian cancer.

As a first step to reducing waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment, the NHS has now exceeded its pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments in our first year of Government, delivering 5.2 million more appointments.

To ensure that women have access to the best treatment for ovarian cancer, NHS England commissioned an audit on ovarian cancer. The audit looks at what is being done well, where it’s being done well, and what needs to be done much better. The audit published its second report in September 2025 and officials across the Government are considering its findings.

The National Cancer Plan, due for publication in the new year, will include further details on how the NHS will improve care for cancer patients, including those with ovarian cancer in Shropshire.