A CANCER charity funding vital research in East Yorkshire says everyone has a part to play in the battle against the disease.
The comments come from Daisy Appeal founder Professor Nick Stafford, after the Mail revealed shocking cancer statistics for Hull.
According to figures from Cancer Research UK, the city has more people dying from cancer than the national average and more patients are diagnosed in the later stages of their illness.
Patients being diagnosed later on have a lower chance of surviving cancer, as treatment options are greatly limited.
Professor Stafford said the Daisy Appeal – which is currently building a new high-tech scanner at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham for cancer patients – is doing all it can.
He said: "We can only do so much, but there are all sorts of things that contribute to cancer – there isn't one simple answer to fighting it.
"Everyone has their part to play.
"In Hull, a lot of the problems tend to be grouped together.
"Lifestyle choices are a key factor – Hull has a high number of smokers, which has a follow-on affect for a range of cancers.
"There is also an increasing problem with obesity, which is also linked to certain cancers.
"We need to get people to realise what the underlying causes of tumours are.
"Lifestyle improvements are just as important as treating the tumours when they come along."
On Monday, the Mail revealed 446.5 per 100,000 people in Hull suffer from a form of cancer, compared with the national average of 398.1.
A total of 31.8 per cent of patients in the city will be diagnosed with cancer through emergency routes, which is again higher than the national average.
Cancer Research UK says late diagnosis could correlate closely with poor survival, and indeed in Hull, the one-year survival rate is 65.2 per cent – lower than the national average of 67.7 per cent.
Prof Stafford said: "I don't think some people realise that the longer you leave something, the worse it will get.
"People try to pretend it will go away, not realising that every minute of not going to the doctors is going to count against them.
"I think there are a lot of issues surrounding late diagnosis. There is the concern about feeling like a nuisance to your GP, not realising the importance of symptoms, as some cancers present some very straight forward symptoms, and finally there is a fear of going to the doctor and what he or she might find.
"Patients diagnosed later often require much more extensive investigations.
"This is a big generalisation, but most early stage cancers often only need either surgery or radiotherapy, but later ones often need a combination of the two."
The Daisy Appeal was set up to improve treatment and research opportunities into a variety of common diseases, including cancer, heart disease and neurological illnesses.
The appeal is currently creating a patient scanning and research centre at Castle Hill Hospital.
The PET-CT scanning equipment should be up and running by next year.
It could diagnose up to 1,300 patients each year – a huge increase on the current provision of just two visits per week by a similar mobile scanning service.
The scanner will help tackle some of the UK's biggest killers – strokes, cancer and heart disease.
Prof Stafford said: "We are trying to help with the accuracy of diagnosis – the PET-CT scanner will be faster, more efficient and more accurate. But this will be part of the whole diagnostic process.
"On its own, it isn't the answer."
