First published: 13/08/2024
Cancer has overtaken cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death among women in North East England, according to healthcare officials. This alarming statistic was highlighted during a council meeting last week, where representatives from the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) emphasised the urgent need for improved cancer detection and prevention in the region.
Speaking at the meeting, Siobhan Brown, the ICB's Women's Health Director, revealed that cancer is now the primary cause of death for women in the area, surpassing cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death for women across the rest of the UK. “In our area, cancer is the biggest killer of women – higher than cardiovascular disease, which is the biggest nationally,” Brown said.
Brown also highlighted significant disparities in cervical screening rates across the North East, which vary dramatically from 37.4% to 81.5% among women aged 25 to 49. The rates are somewhat more consistent among women aged 50 to 64, ranging from 68.4% to 82.7%. These figures underscore the need for better access to screening services, which are crucial for early cancer detection.
“Early detection will mean longer lives, not in ill health,” Brown stated, stressing the importance of catching cancer early to improve outcomes. She noted that women in the North East spend, on average, 21 years living in ill health, a statistic that further underscores the region's health challenges.
Efforts are underway to address these issues, Brown told the Northumberland County Council. The ICB is working to enhance access to cervical screenings and substance misuse services, aiming to reduce cancer mortality rates and improve overall health outcomes for women in the region.
The meeting also addressed the broader challenges of healthcare access in deprived communities. Gill O'Neil, the council's Director of Public Health, explained that disparities in healthcare access are not just about the availability of services but also about whether people feel these services are accessible and appropriate for them. “It’s not only about the physical presence of a service being available, it’s that acceptability of that service, for people to feel it is for them and they can come forward and access it,” O'Neil said.
O'Neil emphasised the importance of cultural and support mechanisms in encouraging people to utilise available services, suggesting that a multifaceted approach is necessary to improve healthcare access in the region.
As healthcare leaders in the North East continue to grapple with these challenges, the focus remains on early detection and prevention as key strategies to reduce cancer-related deaths and improve the quality of life for women in the region.
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