Greater Manchester public health chief backs campaign to cut cancer rates in north west

A public health chief who lost her mum to lung cancer just two months after she was diagnosed with the disease is backing a new cancer plan.

Rebecca Fletcher, who is Public Health Director for Oldham, lost her mum Lesley Fletcher to lung cancer.

Now she is backing Cancer Research UK’s ambitious cancer plan for how the next UK Government could help avoid around 2,300 cancer deaths a year in the North West by 2040 – and prevent more people like Lesley losing their life to cancer.

Ahead of the next general election, Cancer Research UK has published Longer, better lives: a manifesto for cancer research and care that outlines five key missions to speed up progress in preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. 

One of the plan’s five key missions is to end cancers caused by smoking by raising the age of sale of tobacco and to fund a world-leading programme of measures to help people who smoke to quit.   

Rebecca remembers her mum always smoking from her being a youngster in the 1970s. In 2009, Mum-of-two Lesley was struggling with depression and mental health issues and hadn’t paid attention to a persistent cough.

But in October of that year, Lesley was diagnosed with lung cancer. The disease was already so advanced that she was unable to start treatment. She was given pain relief and died the day after Boxing Day aged 63 – just two months after being diagnosed, at Wythenshawe Hospital.

Rebecca’s dad, Ian Fletcher, had stopped smoking a few years before Lesley’s diagnosis. He and Rebecca’s older sister, Victoria, now live in Dorset. And Rebecca lives in Salford with her partner Mike.

Thanks to research, cancer survival in the UK has doubled since the 1970s. But the charity warned that with NHS cancer services in crisis and with rising numbers of new cancer cases – more than an estimated 58,000 a year projected in the North West by 2040** – this hard-won progress is at risk of stalling.  

The UK still lags behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival, it said, and called on all political parties to make cancer a top priority in their party manifestos.   

Whoever assumes office after the general election must commit to developing a 10-year cancer plan. Urgent action is also required to address a more than £1 billion funding gap for research into cancer over the next decade, that will put hard-won medical advances at risk.   

Cancer Research UK also called for: improved early detection of cancer through initiatives including a lung screening programme; action to ensure cancer wait time targets are met; and the establishment of a National Cancer Council - accountable to the Prime Minister - to drive cross-government action on the disease. 

Rebecca understands the vital importance of cancer investment more than most. That’s why she’s urging people across the North West to sign an open letter to party leaders at cruk.org/letter. 

She is determined that politicians get the message that beating cancer is vitally important to voters like her and says the next general election needs to be a turning point for people affected by the disease.  

The 47-year-old said: “It was devastating to lose my mum to lung cancer. Particularly as she died so quickly after being diagnosed.

  “That’s why I’m backing Cancer Research UK’s manifesto.

“There are so many pressures at the moment with funding and the state of cancer services across England, but the politicians must make sure that people affected by cancer don’t pay the price for this now and in the future.

“So many people’s lives are touched by this disease and the numbers are only growing. That’s why we all need to get behind this manifesto and have our voices heard, so that more families like mine can enjoy more moments with the people they love.” 

Cancer Research UK spokeswoman for the North West, Jane Bullock, said: “We’re grateful to Rebecca for her support. We've made huge progress in beating cancer over the last 50 years - but it remains the defining health issue of our time. Cases are rising and we estimate that half a million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the UK every year by 2040. People continue to face unacceptable delays to diagnosis and treatment and the UK lags behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival.  

“The public expect and deserve action. We calculate that the recommendations made within our Manifesto for Cancer Research and Care, will reduce cancer mortality by 15% by 2040 - helping avoid 20,000 cancer deaths in the UK every year.

“But only if we act now. I urge everyone to support the manifesto and sign our open letter to party leaders. The prize is a legacy of life-saving cancer research and care that will benefit the UK for decades to come.” 

 Sign Cancer Research UK’s open letter to party leaders at: cruk.org/letter