Skip to main content
Banner image for Henry Smith

Henry Smith

Member of Parliament for Crawley

Main navigation

  • Home
  • About
  • News
  • Campaigns
  • Westminster Reports
  • Articles
  • Video
  • Contact & Privacy Notice
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Standing up for people with blood cancer in Parliament

  • Tweet
Monday, 7 September, 2020
Standing up for people with blood cancer in Parliament

Each September marks Blood Cancer Awareness Month. While this is always an important moment to raise awareness of the condition, it is difficult to think of a year when such a focus was more needed.

Blood cancer differs from other forms of cancer as it affects the blood cells. There are over 200,000 people in the UK with more than 100 different types of blood cancer, which include leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. All of these people were asked to shield from COVID-19 from March until July, with an effect on them and their families which cannot be underestimated.

Following the sudden loss of a close family member to blood cancer, in 2016 I set up and continue to chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Blood Cancer.

One of the key issues the Group has sought to raise is to highlight the symptoms of blood cancer, and the importance of early diagnosis. A consequence of the pandemic has been people not seeing their GP, potentially ignoring symptoms which may have been those of blood cancer.

The most common symptoms include unexplained weight loss, unexplained bruising or bleeding, lumps or swellings, drenching night sweats and persistent, recurrent or severe infections.

Of course, most people with these symptoms will not have blood cancer. However, if you have any of these symptoms you should book an appointment with your GP.

It is estimated that between March and July, the NHS would expect around 13,000 people to be diagnosed with the condition.

Around a third of people with blood cancer end up seeing their GP three or more times before they are diagnosed. This is more than any other type of common cancer and highlights the scale of the challenge. Our GPs need greater support to help them identify blood cancer symptoms, particularly when they are found in what can seem like an unrelated health issue.

Government is committed to ensure that 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for five years or more, and 75 per cent of people with cancer will be diagnosed at an early stage (stage one or two) by 2028.

This is a good start, however in recognition of the fact that it is difficult, and in some cases, impossible to stage blood cancers, we need to see a commitment to reduce the number of people diagnosed with blood cancer via an emergency to the rate for other common cancers; from 28 per cent to 19 per cent.

I want to assure anyone in Crawley who has this condition that the Blood Cancer APPG will continue to stand up for you in Parliament.

Henry Smith MP

  • Articles

You may also be interested in

Health in Crawley

Health in Crawley

I welcome services returning to Crawley Hospital, a stark contrast to the previous decade where we lost our maternity unit in 2001 and A&E department in 2005.

Blood Cancer

Blood Cancer

It was my honour to set up and be elected to chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blood Cancer in June 2016.

In this role I’ve worked closely with the charity Bloodwise, and liaised with medical professionals, Government ministers as well as patients and their support groups.

Henry Smith MP welcomes over £500,000 funding boost to tackle serious violence in Sussex

Henry Smith MP welcomes over £500,000 funding boost to tackle serious violence in Sussex

Monday, 8 March, 2021

Henry Smith MP has welcomed the announcement that the Government is making available over £130 million to tackle serious violent crime in the coming year.

News

  • Latest Bulletin

Keep up to date with Henry Smith MP's work for Crawley

Stay informed on the latest news.

The information you provide is used in accordance with our Data Collection and Use policy. By clicking this button you agree to your information being used in accordance with that policy.

Show only

  • Articles
  • Local News
  • Reports
  • Speeches in Parliament
  • Westminster News

Henry Smith Member of Parliament for Crawley

Footer

  • About RSS
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies
  • Privacy
  • About Henry
  • Get a postal vote
  • Register to vote
Promoted by Henry Smith MP of the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
Copyright 2021 Henry Smith Member of Parliament for Crawley. All rights reserved.
Powered by Bluetree