The 6 most deadly cancers which kill 60% in a year – and the first symptoms to look out for
SHOCKING figures lay bare how almost 60 per cent of people diagnosed with the six least survivable cancers die from their disease within a year.
Over 90,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with one of these deadly cancers every year.
But cancer registry data from England shows that just 42 per cent of patients will live more than a year after diagnosis.
By contrast, the overall one-year survival rate for all cancers is 70 per cent.
The deadly forms of cancer include:
According to the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce (LSCT), these six cancers claim people’s lives so quickly as they are often diagnosed at later stages compared to other cancers.
Only 28 per cent of patients are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2 – compared to 54 per cent for all cancers – which limits the potential for treatments to boost survival rates.
Charities backing the taskforce – including the British Liver Trust, Pancreatic Cancer UK, The Brain Tumour Charity and Guts UK – also highlighted that these six disease received a fraction of the funding other cancers do.
Anna Jewell, LSCT chair, said: “The reality that more than half of people diagnosed with a less survivable cancer will not survive beyond a year is simply unacceptable.
“It is essential that all UK governments take immediate steps to develop and implement national action plans dedicated to less survivable cancers to improve the outcomes for patients with these devastating diseases.
“We can change the narrative and improve one year survival by setting specific targets, prioritising early diagnosis and improving treatment pathways to give every patient a fighting chance.”
Paulette Hamilton MP, who’s spearheading a new All Party Parliamentary Group on the Less Survivable Cancers, added: “The less survivable cancers have been neglected for far too long and it’s time to ensure that they receive the attention they deserve.”
Here are the six least survivable forms of cancer and red flag symptoms to know for each one.
1. Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rates, with over half of people die within three months of diagnosis.
According to the ONS, less than 7 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer in UK live more than five years after diagnosis.
Surgery is one of the most effective ways of treating the disease, but a whopping 80 per cent of cases are diagnosed so late that the cancer is no longer operable.
Common symptoms of pancreatic cancer include:
- Indigestion, a painful, burning feeling in your chest, upper tummy or throat and a bitter, unpleasant taste in your mouth
- Tummy or back pain that can be worse when lying down
- Changes to your poo, like diarrhoea and constipation, as well as pale, oily poos that smell worse than normal and are difficult to flush
- Unintentional weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Bloating
- A high temperature, or feeling hot and shivery
- Jaundice, yellowing of the skin and eyes that may be less obvious on black and brown skin, as well as dark pee, pale poo and itchy skin
Pancreatic Cancer UK recommends that anyone experiencing one or more of the most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer – back pain, indigestion, tummy pain and weight-loss – contact their GP.
Anyone with jaundice should immediately go to A&E.
Cancer screenings in England
CATCHING cancer early gives you the best chance of survival, and a huge part of that is attending regular screenings.
NHS programmes can help diagnose the disease, or risk of it, and improve the likelihood of successful treatment.
There are three national screening programmes in England: cervical screening, breast screening and bowel screening.
“If you are eligible, please make every effort to have your screening test as they can detect a problem early, before you have any symptoms. ,” the NHS says.
“Finding out about a problem early can mean that treatment is more effective.”
Cervical screening
This is offered in England to people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 and is routinely carried out every three years up to the age of 49, and every five from 50 to 64.
Depending on the result, people may be recalled earlier.
During a cervical screening, samples are tested for high risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which causes nearly all cervical cancers.
Those that test positive are then analysed further.
Breast screening
Breast screenings, which involve an X-ray test called a mammogram that can spot cancers when they are too small to see or feel, are usually offered to women aged 50 to 71 in England.
But the NHS is trialling them for women under 50 if they have a high risk of developing breast cancer.
Bowel screening
This test detects whether patients are showing any early signs of cancer.
It is available to everyone aged 54 to 74, with the programme gradually expanding to those 50-plus after The Sun’s No Time 2 Lose campaign.
Currently, those aged 54 to 74 are automatically sent an at-home test kit every two years, so make sure your GP has your correct address.
The at-home test involves providing a small poo sample to be checked for tiny amounts of blood, which could be caused by cancer.
If you’re 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every two years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.
Source: NHS
2. Liver cancer
According to the British Liver Trust, liver cancer is the eighth most common cause of cancer-related death in the UK, with death rates soaring by 44 per cent in the last decade.
Most cases are linked to damage and scarring of the liver, which is most often caused by viral hepatitis, alcohol and obesity.
This type of cancer can cause the following symptoms:
- Unintentional weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling very full after eating
- Feeling and being sick
- Pain or swelling in your abdomen
- Jaundice (yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes)
- Itchy skin,
- Feeling very tired and weak
- Fever with shivers
- Vomiting blood
- Dark black tarry poo
- Dark urine
3. Brain tumours
Brain tumours are the ninth most common cancer in the UK and 60 per cent of those diagnosed with a high-grade brain tumour will die within a year, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
Symptoms can include:
- Headaches
- Nausea or vomiting
- Vision or speech problems
- Fits (seizures)
- Mental or behavioural change such as memory problems or changes in personality
4. Oesophageal cancer
About 9,200 cases of oesophageal cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK – but only 15 per cent of adult patients survive five years of more.
The oesophagus – sometimes called the gullet or food pipe – connects your mouth to your stomach.
The UK has one of the highest incidences of oesophageal cancer in the world, according Action Against Heartburn.
Symptoms of the disease may include:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Persistent indigestion or heartburn
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Vomiting
- Pain or discomfort in stomach, chest or back
- A persistent cough
- Hoarseness
- Tiredness
- Shortness of breath
5. Stomach cancer
Around 6,700 people are diagnosed with stomach cancer in the UK each year, according to CRUK.
Some 45 per cent of stomach cancer patients England and Wales survive their cancer for one year or more, but this number dwindles to 20 per cent at the five year mark.
Just 15 per cent will survive their cancer for 10 years or more.
Guts UK flagged these initial symptoms of the disease to get checked out:
- Indigestion that doesn’t go away
- Upper abdominal pain or discomfort
- Feeling full after eating small amounts of food
- Feeling sick (nausea)
- Being sick (vomiting)
- Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
- Unexpected weight loss
- Burping
- Bleeding, resulting in a dark or black poo or vomiting blood,
- Symptoms of anaemia
6. Lung cancer
Over 49,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with lung cancer every year.
Smoking can significantly increase your risk of developing the cancer, but it’s by no means the only cause.
Around 30 per cent of lung cancer cases aren’t caused by smoking at all.
According to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, symptoms include:
- A persistent cough
- Shortness of breath
- Repeat chest infections
- A cough that does not go away or gets worse
- Coughing up blood
- Chest pain
- Feeling tired or weak
- Weight loss and loss of appetite
- Shoulder pain or back pain