Scot Lib Dems set out plans to tackle 37,657 cancer cases 

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP has urged the SNP government to listen to his party’s calls to roll out a lung cancer screening programme and undertake a further series of measures to boost cancer survival rates as new figures showed that in 2024 there were 37,657 new cancers registered in Scotland.

Figures from Public Health Scotland show that the most common cancer types in Scotland were prostate, breast, lung, and colorectal, accounting for 55% of all diagnoses.

In 2022, the UK National Screening Committee recommended that the whole of the UK introduce a lung cancer screening programme to help prevent the disease or catch it early.

It is already being implemented in England, and Wales has now announced that it will also do a full rollout. Four years on, however, Scotland has not moved on beyond the pilot programme.

The SNP Government have said that it would take 7 to 10 years for them to implement the scheme fully.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have launched a petition which calls on the Scottish Government to commit to a full, nationwide rollout of the screening programme. You can sign the petition HERE.

In their recent manifesto, the Scottish Liberal Democrats set out further measures to boost cancer survival rates by:

• Replacing ageing equipment including radiotherapy machines and increase their number, reducing long journeys for treatment.
• Creating a world-leading cancer research environment.
• Welcoming US scientists fleeing the Trump administration’s anti-science agenda, enabling them to continue their cancer research, as part of the Liberal Democrats’ proposals for a UK-wide Cancer Research Fellowship Scheme.
• Prioritising the science to increase genetic screening for cancer.
• Ensure all cancer patients who require reconstructive surgery can receive this on the NHS, following treatment or pre-emption.

Adam Harley MSP said:

“These figures illustrate the worrying prevalence of cancer deaths across Scotland.

“When it comes to lung cancer, survival rates aren’t much better than what they were in the 1970s, and access to diagnosis and treatment can still be a postcode lottery.

“A national lung cancer screening programme, which is already underway in England, could make a big difference, and that’s why my party have been calling for it to be rolled out across Scotland.

“Cancer patients shouldn’t be waiting years for interventions like this.

"Scottish Liberal Democrats have set out plans for a host of early interventions to prevent and diagnose cancer quickly. The Scottish Government should get behind our plans to save lives."