Launch of the 2020 Skin Cancer Visions

Gerald was delighted to attend the launch of the 2020 Skin Cancer Visions on Wednesday 15th July in the House of Commons.

The 2020 Skin Cancer Visions is a new manifesto from the Melanoma Taskforce which sets out how skin cancer care and services should evolve over the next five years to provide the best results for patients.

Gerald was able to speak to charities and patient group experts and is calling for the NHS to do all it can to improve efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat skin cancer. Malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is one of the top ten cancers in the UK for both men and women and over the last 25 years, rates of melanoma have risen faster than any of the other cancers in this group.

The Melanoma Taskforce is a group of experts in skin cancer, chaired by Pauline Latham MP, which meets in Westminster to discuss ways to improve the services used by patients. It includes patient groups, leading clinicians and experts from the NHS. The 2020 Skin Cancer Visions has identified a number of challenges and opportunities for skin cancer patients, including:

• The need for a national prevention campaign for skin cancer, including the importance of Sun Safety.
• Ensuring there is adequate funding and support for Skin Cancer Nurse Specialists.
• Making sure exciting new advances in skin cancer treatment are made available to patients as soon as possible.

There have been a number of advances in skin cancer treatment in recent years, particularly in advanced melanoma, and it is essential that the NHS uses the next five years to improve patient care. Improving prevention and early diagnosis efforts now will be essential to stop skin cancers developing later.

Gerald said:

I was delighted to attend the launch of the 2020 Skin Cancer Visions. This is an important new report which shows how far we have come in treating skin cancers but how far we have to go to make sure patient care is as good as it can possibly be. With rates of malignant melanoma rising fast, the NHS in Wales must act now to improve skin cancer services. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Welsh Assembly Huw Lewis AM and the health minister Mark Drakeford AM to ensure that we do everything we possibly can do to ensure that we provide the best treatments and diagnosis available to help my constituents and patients right across Wales beat skin cancer.”

You can find out more about the taskforces work on Twitter using the hashtag #SkinCancerVisions