Meon Valley MP Flick Drummond has signed a letter calling for a National Brain Tumour Strategy as the condition is the biggest killer of children and adults under 40.
The open letter also signed by colleagues is asking the health minister Andrew Stephenson to support The Brain Tumour Charity’s campaign.
There have been few clinical breakthroughs to treat brain tumours compared to other diseases with options still mostly limited to surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the letter said
It added that people diagnosed with a brain tumour have been falling through the cracks for many years. This can range from multiple misdiagnoses and trips to GPs.
A survey by the charity found that 41% of respondents said they visited their GP three or more times before getting a diagnosis.
Patients are also not having access to the support they are entitled to from an allocated Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS).
“I fully support the charity’s call for a national strategy because it will lead to improvements in the areas of diagnosis, care, treatment and research we need if we are to ensure more people can survive this disease especially as it strikes those in much younger age brackets than many other cancers,” said Flick.
“We are in a bad way if people are not getting the diagnosis and treatment they need and my view is only a strategy can implement the pathways that could lead to better outcomes for sufferers.
“I thank my colleague Paul Blomfield for organising the letter and my colleagues for supporting it. We need to keep the pressure on.”
The strategy would require all nations of the UK to work together to tackle problems affecting diagnosis, care, treatment and research with separate implementation plans then being developed within each nation.
The Brain Tumour Charity is the UK’s largest dedicated brain tumour charity. It funds pioneering research to increase survival and improve treatment options as well as raising awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours to bring about earlier diagnosis.
