Is cancer worse in Yorkshire?

Sadly, people in Yorkshire are more likely to get cancer, and more likely to die of cancer, than almost anywhere else in England. As Yorkshire’s independent cancer charity, our purpose is to change this.

Yorkshire has the third worst cancer outcomes in England¹. In 2019, an estimated 627 cases of cancer were diagnosed per 100,000 people in Yorkshire, compared to 610 in England as a whole. During the same year, there were an estimated 270 deaths from cancer per 100,000 people in Yorkshire, compared to 255 in England².

1. Yorkshire's large geography
   Yorkshire is a diverse region with large cities and vast coastal and rural communities. Sadly, not everyone in Yorkshire is able to access to the highest quality of cancer services and treatment. We are working to change this, sharing best practice across the region.
2. Late-stage cancer diagnosis
   A lower proportion of people in Yorkshire are diagnosed at an early stage. Being diagnosed at an early stage means when there are often more treatment options available, and treatment is more likely to be successful (5). If more people in Yorkshire were diagnosed at an early stage, then fewer people would die from cancer.
   
3. Screening for cancer
   Not everyone takes part in bowel, breast or cervical cancer screening when they are invited to do so, missing the opportunity to detect cancer at the earliest possible stage. For example, in some parts of Yorkshire only 4 in 10 eligible people take up vital bowel cancer screening.
   
4. Smoking and lung cancer
   Yorkshire has the highest smoking rates in England (6) and lung cancer causes around 3000 cancer deaths here each year, more than any other cancer. Recognising that smoking is an addiction that often starts in childhood and helping people to stop smoking is essential to reducing cancer rates across our region.
   
5. Funding for cancer research
   Research-active hospitals are proven to deliver better outcomes for patients than those where there is little or no clinical research. This is why our charity is committed to funding £10 million of research each year to attract talented researchers and healthcare experts to our region.
   

1 Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Mortality Profile

2 NHS CancerData, Incidence and Mortality

3 Reconceptualising Rural Cancer Inequalities: Time for a New Research Agenda

4 NHS CancerData, Cancer Staging

5 Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, National General Practice Profiles

6 Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Local Tobacco Control Profiles