Wokingham’s Liberal Democrat MP, Clive Jones, has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Wokingham’s Liberal Democrat MP, Clive Jones, has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, on behalf of a constituent asking for the Government to coordinate and ensure funding for research into less survivable cancers.

New Wokingham MP, Clive Jones, has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on behalf of a constituent, asking the minister to address the issue of certain cancers being neglected by research funding.

In 2023 the Liberal Democrats announced an ambitious plan to end unacceptable cancer delays and boost cancer survival rates. As part of this plan, Clive told the Health Secretary, the Lib Dems want to pass a Cancer Survival Research Act. This new legislation would be modelled on the US law signed by President Obama in 2013, and would require the Government to coordinate and ensure funding for research into the cancers with the lowest survival rates, including lung, liver, brain and pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is a particularly pertinent example of this. In 2024, half of the people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer died within three months of diagnosis, and 7 in 10 people diagnosed with the disease will receive no treatment at all. There hasn’t been a single treatment specifically designed for pancreatic cancer, with all existing treatments being copied from other cancer types, making them less effective. Without urgent action, Clive Jones writes, 50,000 more people will die from pancreatic cancer in the UK over the course of the next parliament.

As a cancer survivor himself, this issue is incredibly important to Wokingham’s MP.

In his letter Clive Jones, the MP for Wokingham, wrote:
“The UK is falling behind the rest of the world. We are 29th out of 33 countries for five year survival for pancreatic cancer. Despite this, it receives only 3% of the UK’s cancer research funding.

“Without urgent action, by the end of the next Parliament, pancreatic cancer will overtake breast cancer as the fourth biggest cancer killer.

“I ask you to address the issue of ensuring that all cancers are in receipt of research funding to ensure the best outcomes for patients whilst also addressing the very important issue of bringing down hospital waiting lists and treatment times.”