i can issue 7

Editor's letter:
Raising an issue (or two)

We have entered a period of intense media interest in cancer – beginning with October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is usually widely covered in the media.

Not all cancers attract so much attention, though. November brings Lung Cancer Awareness Month and the relative lack of media coverage about lung cancer will be all the more noticeable because it follows that for breast cancer. Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, and yet it is something of an invisible disease. What is it that makes lung cancer so much less interesting to the media? Is it because it affects those who are generally from a lower socio-economic background? Or is it because patients with lung cancer don’t tend to live very long? Whatever the reason, we still need to make sure that people with lung cancer get access to the best care available.

The same holds true for all patients with cancer. The treatment provided and the level of care should depend on what each individual needs and not where or how they live. Don’t be afraid to ask whether the treatment you are getting is widely used. Ask also about how much experience the doctor treating you has had. Doctors want to do their best for patients and discussing your concerns will help to ensure they give you the treatment that is right for you.

We often ask for readers to respond to articles and I am delighted to include just some of the letters we have received about features in previous issues (see Over to you on page 18). The responses following Freddie Benson’s story (issue 6, page 10) tell of other patients who have received excellent care – and it is heartening that they come from across the country. One person has, as I asked, let us know how cancer services could be improved and we shall forward this to the Cancer Services Collaborative, which is working hard to make services more patient friendly.

Jean Mossman, Editor