Could private medical cover provide an alternative to lung cancer 'postcode lottery'?

Private medical cover could be an attractive alternative for those hoping to avoid a lung cancer "postcode lottery" of care.

According to a new report, NHS services for treating lung cancer remain "insufficient" with wide variations in quality and outcomes in different parts of the country.

The report, from the charity the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said that lung cancer patient survival rates were "completely unacceptable" with very little improvement since the 1970s.

It also criticised a lack of available funding for lung cancer research and said on average, only 54 per cent of patients receive any kind of active treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

However, this figure varies from ten per cent to 80 per cent depending on where in the UK a patient is treated.

Called the Report Card, it is the third such annual assessment of the UK's lung cancer services from the charity.

Dr Rosemary Gillespie, chief executive of The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: "We understand the current financial pressures on the government but the scale of the problem merits a much greater investment in lung cancer for all patients and their families."

Over 38,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with lung cancer each year with smoking being the main cause.

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