A call for support - where is the cancer strategy?Wales has no concrete cancer strategy as of 22/3/20. Have you heard about it on the news? Don't be daft. We are sick of meetings, audits and wishy washy abstract statements. We have been left on our own, everything from delays to DNRs and guess what? Now the welsh government have given us a huge FU with no cancer plan. The World Health Organisation recommends every nation should have a cancer delivery plan and now we are the only nation in the UK without one. I guess approx 9000 people dying from cancer in Wales EVERY YEAR is undeserving of a concrete plan with accountability. Can we STOP pretending COVID has been causing all these issues? All it has done is expose how fragile our health system really is. If we had a competent government we could have treated COVID and cancer... the fumbling, apathetic, ignorance is getting freaking exhausting. We at least deserve a fucking plan. This is all you need to know to get going
1) This is the statement released 22/3 instead of a cancer delivery plan. The World Health Organisation recommends every nation has a cancer delivery plan. https://gov.wales/quality-statement-cancer-html. 2) This is the old 20 page cancer delivery plan that used to be in place and ended 2020. Regarding the single cancer pathway - if you have not seen it (For comparison of what it should be like). https://gov.wales/.../cancer-delivery-plan-2016-to-2020.pdf As you can see from the statement this is an awful downgrade. 3) Here is a write up of it from CAW: https://walescanceralliance.org/.../response-to.../ 4) This is also a brilliant run down which hits the nail on the head of what is happening and why it's bad. - https://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2021/03/22/opinion-wales-needs-more-than-a-three-page-statement-to-get-cancer-services-back-on-track/ ........... Next thing is tackling the senedd - So far I have sent an email (copy and pasted below) to the Vaughan G (health minister) David Reese AM (Chair of the welsh equivalent to the appgbc - the cross party group for cancer wales (well call them the cpgw) and my local MS Bethan S member of CPGW). The email (adapted to the recipient) Hello Bethan, As a constituent of yours and as someone who has been affected by Breast Cancer (first hand) I was extremely disappointed to read the 3 page quality statement for cancer instead of any real plan. I personally have secondary breast cancer and I am not even 30 years of age. I was let down by the dual diagnostic pathway on both my primary and secondary diagnosis. During my secondary diagnosis I was assessed 9 different times at my GP's office within 31 days before collapsing due to widespread cancer (due to my short history of BC, I don't understand how this was not considered as an option). Since then, I have been shocked and disheartened to learn many things, but the two most pressing have been: There is no real data on people living with SBC in Wales. How can anything change if we do not have the adequate data? There is only one SBC nurse in Wales. Considering 33% of people with BC will go on to develop SBC, the majority of the needs of people with SBC will go unrepresented. To be quite frank, this latest statement with the context of the points above, feels more like a kick in the teeth than a helpful plan with tangible goals. How will the shortages among staff who run tests to detect cancer (scans) be tackled? How will the local health boards be held to account by a statement so abstract and open to interpretation? I understand COVID pressures, but with all due respect, many of these points have been an issue long before last year. If possible, I would like to meet with you in person to discuss where the government plans on going with this. I look forward to hearing from you, Kind regards, Tassia Haines You can copy and paste elements you that apply to you. If you do not know the contact details of who represents you in the senedd and is a member of the CPGW have a look here: https://business.senedd.wales/mgCommitteeMailingList.aspx?ID=436 I hope this helps! |
A ' no holds' page about my life with incurable advanced Breast Cancer, in the hope it will give a realistic, detailed account to other young women going through the unfortunate illness.
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