The annual report from Public Health Scotland, published on the 28th of March 2023, shows that 35,379 new cancers were diagnosed in the past year, a 15 percent rise from the previous year. While some of this is due to under-reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of cancer diagnosis remain 5 percent higher than in 2019, before the pandemic arose. Lung cancer was the most common form across the country, accounting for 15 percent of all cancers, while over half of diagnosed cancers affected the lungs, breasts, prostate or bowels.
Inequalities surrounding the risk of developing cancer has continued to grow, with the report finding that individuals from Scotland’s most deprived neighbourhoods being 30 percent more likely to develop cancer than a person from its least deprived areas. This is largely due to higher rates of smoking and obesity within more deprived areas of the country, both of which are the driving factors behind greater risks of developing cancer.
The large figures of cancer diagnosis are a worrying sign that many people who developed cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic may not have been diagnosed early, or at all. An early diagnosis of cancers can dramatically improve chances of success for treatments, making them vital within healthcare systems. For example, an early diagnosis of lung cancer has been found to produce a 20-year survival rate of 80 percent. In contrast, lung cancer that is diagnosed late can lead to death within a year for around half of the people who contract it. With the Scottish NHS struggling from a lack of government funding, it may still be under-diagnosing cancers which developed over the last 3 years, putting the safety of hundreds of Scots at risk. Because of this, it is vital that the Scottish Government give the healthcare service the tools it needs to thoroughly diagnose cancers, and help save lives.