Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of ovarian cancer in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Raising awareness and improving early diagnosis of cancers, which includes ovarian cancer, remains a priority across England, including in Romford. NHS England is working towards the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. Achieving this will mean that, from 2028, around 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis.

To encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice or are worried about symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign. The campaign has included phases which focus on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer. The National Health Service plans to run further Help Us Help You campaign activity in 2024.