CoppaFeel! welcomes Cancer Plan ambition but urges action to ensure younger people aren’t left behind

Responding to today’s National Cancer Plan, Natalie Haskell, Chief Executive of CoppaFeel!, the UK’s only youth focused breast cancer awareness charity, says:

We welcome the key ambitions set out in the Government’s national cancer plan, published today — particularly its focus on early detection, tackling health inequities, better identifying risk and increasing investment in research and innovation. These commitments are vital to improving outcomes for younger people diagnosed with breast cancer, as early-onset cancers are on the rise.”

But if the Government is to increase early diagnosis and meet its survival targets, early-onset cancers must become a priority. Under-50s, who fall outside of screening age, are twice as likely to be diagnosed late compared to someone in their 60s and experience some of the worst outcomes.”

We’re ready to work with the government to increase awareness, look at how screening can extend to those most at risk of breast cancer, and ensure that the additional funding committed to research and innovation includes younger people to ensure their specific needs are met – to ultimately improve outcomes for younger people with breast cancer.”

Notes

• 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes.
• Increasingly, these diagnoses are happening earlier in life. Breast cancer cases among people aged 25–29 have risen by 75% since 2001, and CoppaFeel!’s analysis of NHS data shows that more than half (51%) of all new breast cancer diagnoses now occur outside the national screening age.
• This pattern is not unique to breast cancer. A recent global study found that cancers in young adults under 50 increased by 79% between 1990 and 2019, with cancer deaths in this age group rising by 28%.
• Under-50s are twice as likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer as those in their 60s, with under-25s three times as likely. 
• A woman diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer at age 25 has just a quarter of the chance of surviving 15 years post-surgery compared with a woman diagnosed at age 65 with the same disease. 
• And outcomes are worst for underserved communities, with Black women, on average, diagnosed 21 years earlier than White women.

About CoppaFeel!

CoppaFeel! are the UK’s only youth focused breast cancer awareness charity, and we’re on a mission to get every young person checking their chest. We educate young people on the signs of breast cancer and encourage them to check their chests monthly, so that if they notice something unusual they are empowered to contact their GP and advocate for themselves. We do this because when diagnosed early, breast cancer treatments are more effective and survival rates are higher. Early detection can save lives. Visit @coppafeel on social channels to find out more.

CoppaFeel!’s media guidelines for reporting on youth breast cancer are available here.