Earlier this year, I had the honour of being elected as the Chairman of the new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blood Cancer.

The Group will bring together MPs and members of the House of Lords, and will promote awareness of blood cancer and highlight the needs of patients with the Government, Parliamentarians, as well as NHS and charity stakeholders.

This is a personal issue for me as four years ago I lost my own mother to a form of leukaemia, I see it as my duty to do all I can to help raise awareness of this disease. There are around 230,000 people in the UK living with blood cancers, and research from the charity Bloodwise has shown that public awareness of blood cancer is low, and that patients often feel isolated and believe these cancers are seen as ‘separate’ from other cancers.

Every 14 minutes in the UK, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer or a related disorder. This is almost 38,000 people every year.

There are 137 types of blood cancer and related disorders. Blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK.

The initial meeting of the group was very productive – over the coming weeks and months, there will be work done behind the scenes to push forward with the aims of the Group. When I am able to provide an update, I look forward to advising RH Uncovered and to posting information on my website: www.henrysmith.info/news

Henry Smith MP

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
01293 934554/020 7219 7043
[email protected]
www.henrysmith.info