UK Coalition government details new action on cancer 'to save thousands more lives every year'

Confirming its decision to not cut the National Health Service, the UK’s Coalition government says it has made its choice: to deliver better outcomes for patients: earlier diagnosis; better and faster treatment - and lives saved.

A Department of Health statement noted that the government is reforming the NHS “to make every penny count for patients. But we are also taking the action needed - right across the board - to ensure our NHS is equipped to meet this challenge.”

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “I want the NHS to deliver cancer survival rates comparable to the best in the world.” He confirmed a previous coalition pledge of £50 million ($79.7 million) in cancer drugs funding. This will help patients get access to drugs that extend life or improve quality of life and are more readily available in the rest of Europe. Because of decisions made by the drugs watchdog the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UK patients have been denied a number of new oncology drugs that are available in other European countries.