Smart map reveals lung cancer rates lower in Royal Berks area

One specialist nurse suggested this was because of lower smoking rates and less socio-economic deprivation.
And there was more good news – those who do develop the disease are more likely to get top quality diagnosis and care.
The statistics come from new figures released last week by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.
The foundation has launched a lung cancer smart map, which shows patients how treatment in their area compares against government targets and other areas.
The overall cancer rate in the areas covered by Royal Berkshire was the second lowest in the Thames Valley region with 172 cases in 2011, compared with Heatherwood and Wexham Park Trust at 174, Great Western Hospitals Trust at 183, Buckinghamshire Healthcare at 195 and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, the highest, at 307.
The trust with the lowest rate was Milton Keynes Foundation, with 133 cases in 2011.
Royal Berkshire was also the second highest in the Thames Valley for the percentage of patients who received a test to detect lung cancer, and it had the highest number of patients who were both discussed by a lung cancer care team and seen by a lung cancer nurse specialist.
Lung cancer clinical nurse specialist at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Jane Drescher, said that the figures could reflect the lower number of smokers locally or lower rates of socio-economic deprivation in comparison with other areas nationally, and that she hoped the figures would continue in the future.
She added: “This demonstrates the excellent multi-disciplinary working that occurs within our lung cancer team and that we value the importance of patients being discussed at our weekly lung cancer multi-disciplinary meetings to ensure that the best patient management pathway is followed.
“There was an early diagnosis campaign last year and another campaign is due to start in the very near future.”
The medical director at Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Dr Jesme Fox, said that if the statistics were not what people were hoping for, he hoped that it would give them the power to ask why.
He said: “We hope that the smart map will encourage patients to work with their doctors in making sure they get the best care available.”
Lung cancer is Britain’s biggest cancer killer, with approximately 41,500 new cases diagnosed each year. Of these, about 30 per cent will survive a year and only about eight per cent will survive five years.
The statistics used to create the map are from the 2011 national lung cancer audit.
The smart map can be viewed at