Cancer in Yorkshire

Sadly, people in Yorkshire are more likely to get cancer, and more likely to die of cancer, than almost anywhere else in England.

As Yorkshire's cancer charity, Yorkshire Cancer Research exists to change this.

 

1. Yorkshire's large geography
   Yorkshire is a diverse region with large cities and vast coastal and rural communities³. Sadly, not everyone in Yorkshire is able to access to the highest quality of cancer services and treatment. We are working to change this, sharing best practice across the region.
    
2. Late-stage cancer diagnosis
   A lower proportion of people in Yorkshire are diagnosed at an early stage⁴. Being diagnosed at an early stage means that there are often more treatment options available, and treatment is more likely to be successful. People diagnosed at an early stage are more likely to have better outcomes than those diagnosed at a later stage.
    
3. Screening for cancer
   Not everyone takes part in bowel, breast or cervical cancer screening when they are invited to do so, missing the opportunity to detect cancer at the earliest possible stage or prevent it altogether. In Yorkshire, seven in 10 people are up to date with their cancer screening.⁵
    
4. Smoking and lung cancer
   Yorkshire has the second highest smoking rate in England ⁶ and lung cancer causes around 3,000 cancer deaths here each year, more than any other cancer⁷. Recognising that smoking is an addiction that often starts in childhood and helping people to stop smoking is essential to reducing cancer rates across our region.
    
5. Funding for cancer research
   Research-active hospitals are proven to deliver better outcomes for patients than those where there is little or no clinical research⁸. Yorkshire represents nearly 8% of the UK’s population but receives only 5% of health research funding^9,10. This means fewer people in the region can benefit from the opportunity to trial innovative new treatments. Yorkshire Cancer Research funding helps attract talented cancer researchers and experts to our region, for the benefit of everyone living in Yorkshire. 
    

1. Fingertips, Mortality Profile

2. NDRS, Cancer registration statistics 

3. Reconceptualising Rural Cancer Inequalities: Time for a New Research Agenda

4. NDRS, Stage at diagnosis 

5. Cancer Services | Fingertips | Department of Health and Social Care 

6. Fingertips, Smoking Profile

7. Nomis, Mortality statistics

8. Ozdemir, Baris A., et al. "Research activity and the association with mortality." PloS one 10.2 (2015): e0118253.

9. UK Health Research Analysis Report 2022

10. Population estimates - Office for National Statistics