Cancer: Time to change our approach?
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Every two minutes someone in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer. So the development of new cancer drugs is vital for the future health of the nation.
But it's often in the news that the licensing process is too slow or that there's a 'postcode lottery' when it comes to patient access to new cancer treatments. Justin Rowlatt visited one of the UK's 19 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, which were set up with money from Cancer Research UK and the Department of Health last year.
Their aim is to cut the time between a new treatment going from the lab to trial, by bringing together cancer scientists and doctors under one roof.
Justin met volunteers who are testing the cancer treatments of tomorrow for the benefit of themselves and medical science. But they're taking part in trials that have limited places - trials for people who are very ill and have exhausted their options. Since the ECMC network was launched in April 2007, only around 800 patients across the UK have taken part in these clinical trials. provide more information about cancer, cancer care and cancer trials, see: .
Also, for more info about clinical trials from the NHS Choices website.
After nearly losing his life to myeloid leukaemia, former England footballer is attempting to raise £20 million to fund more blood cancer blood trials
Geoff said to Justin: "The frustrating thing is, after speaking to scientists, there are numerous drugs that are ready to go and it's just pure funding that is stopping clinical trials for these products."
Has your life been changed by cancer? Have you been caught in the 'postcode lottery'? Do we need, as a nation, to change our approach to funding treatments for the disease?
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