Chai welcomes government plans to end cancer treatment postcode lottery

"I am determined to end the health inequalities that have grown across England over the last 15 years,” he added. “Whether you live in a coastal town or a rural village, you deserve the same shot at survival and quality of life as everyone else. This government will turn that promise into a reality.”

As well as training more doctors to work in "the communities that need them most”, the government will also be investing in the latest technology to help with early detection –  including an AI sytem that reads chest X-rays to help GPs catch suspected lung cancer sooner.

Making the announcement, the government acknowledged that while more people survive cancer than ever before, progress has slowed over the last decade, and England remains behind other comparable countries, with working class communities being failed most of all.

Victoria Portnoi CEO of Chai Cancer Care (Photo: Chai Cancer Care)[Missing Credit]

With 11 centres across the country – from Glasgow to London – Chai recognises the need to provide equitable cancer care only too well, said Amanda Newdall, the charity’s head of Northern service, in Manchester.

“Many of the people we support live outside major urban centres and we work flexibly to ensure they can still access care, whether that means arranging support at home or helping with travel to appointments.

"We help remove practical barriers to access. For clients who are unable to drive or are too unwell to travel independently, we can arrange transport through volunteers or taxis, ensuring no one is excluded from support because of distance, health or mobility.”

Newdall said their clients reported that being able to access support within their own community gave them “a powerful sense of belonging and reassurance at a time when they feel most vulnerable”.

Launched in 1990 with just £500, Chai began life as a telephone helpline and befriending service, run from the homes of its founders, the late Frances Winegarten and Susan Shipman.

Today, the charity offers 70 services – including counselling, support groups and complementary therapies – for people at all stages of diagnosis and their loved ones, often supporting four generations of one family.

Last month, they announced they were expanding their counselling service to include therapy for native French, Hebrew, Russian and Yiddish speakers. 

Louise Hager MBE, chairman of Chai, said: “Counselling is a significant part of the work we do, and it’s important that clients are able to express themselves in their native language, rather than having to search for the right words in a second or third language that may not reflect how they really feel."

The government’s National Cancer plan comes two months after Streeting announced that the government was committed to resuming the NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme, which identifies people who are vulnerable to breast, ovarian, and, in some cases, prostate and pancreatic cancer.

The NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme is open to anyone aged 18 or over, with at least one Jewish grandparent. To register your interest in being tested, go to jewishbrca.org or click here