Sir – With less than 30 days to go before the General Election, I’m rallying readers to get behind Cancer Research UK’s Cross Cancer Out campaign.

As someone who has had cancer twice, and also lost a parent to the disease, I know only too well what a devastating impact cancer can and will have on families in Oxfordshire, now and in the future. Statistics show that on average, more than 1,400 people die from cancer each year in Oxfordshire alone. And new figures reveal that 50 per cent% of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives. It is therefore absolutely vital that the NHS is fit to offer all cancer patients the best possible chance of survival.

Cancer Research UK is calling for all election candidates to back measures to ensure people with cancer receive the best available treatment, and get diagnosed early enough for that treatment to make a difference. These must be key priorities if the next government is to save more lives. This approach saves money too, because early diagnosis makes treatment easier and much more cost-effective. So itâ?Ts a win-win!.

Currently, survival rates in the UK are still lagging behind the best in Europe and too many cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when they are harder and more expensive to treat successfully. I would urge your readers to be body aware, and if they are offered screening, make sure they do their loved ones a favour and go have the test.

You can make sure your next MP is committed to beating cancer sooner by visiting cruk.org/crosscancerout and emailing your candidates directly from there website.

Paul Currah
Cancer Research UK Volunteer
Campaigns Ambassador
Witney and West Oxfordshire