A Cancer Research report has shown the stark disparities regarding the prevalence of the disease across Scotland. It found that, while cancer impacts widely across the nation, its burden falls most heavily on more deprived areas, and on less affluent families. The report found that death rates from cancer in the most deprived populations were 74 percent higher than among the least deprived populations, leading to almost 5,000 more cases each year being due to deprivation.
One major factor in these higher rates is due to smoking. Smoking is already the biggest cause of cancer in Scotland, being responsible for 20 percent of cancer cases. In addition, smoking is also correlated with deprivation in Scotland, with 32 percent of the most deprived population smoking, compared to just 6 percent of the least deprived. While the proportion of smoking within the most deprived population has been falling for some time and is expected to continue falling to around 15 percent by 2040, the inequality between this group and the most affluent means that these cancer disparities look set to continue.
A second factor is an obesity, which is the second largest preventable cause of cancer in the nation. Again, there is a disparity in obesity rates between the most and least deprived sections of the population, with children in the most deprived population groups being twice as likely to be obese compared to those in the least deprived groups. Since the gap in childhood obesity remains so large, it is likely that this cause of cancer is set to drive wealth inequalities in the illness, even as smoking reduces as a cause of the disease.
This report highlighting disparities between wealth and cancer prevalence adds to existing inequalities regarding BAME Scots and the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Research has found that the prevalence of certain types of cancer is higher within non-White groups in Scotland and that the general incidence of cancer is rising among these groups. However, access to treatment often remains harder, and education about the specifics of cancer within ethnic minority groups is more difficult to obtain, limiting the effectiveness of treatment for these groups even if cancer is diagnosed quickly. Since poverty levels for ethnic minority groups in Scotland are twice the national average, the findings from the Cancer Research Report show that the prevalence of smoking or childhood obesity is potentially higher than the average population level, and BAME Scots remain at a greater risk of cancer than the national average. It is vital that steps are taken to reduce this disparity and help bring down the number of cancer cases and deaths in Scotland.
Over the past year, Shadow Health Secretary Sandesh Gulhane has been holding the Scottish government accountable for rising waiting times and limited cancer services in the country. He has also raised awareness for the many different types of cancer which can affect the population, and has encouraged the Scottish Government to improve testing and diagnosis for cancer across healthcare services. This has helped to improve the detection and treatment of cancer, but as the report shows, there is still work to be done to tackle this problem entirely.