It matters where you live when cancer comes knocking. There are around 20,000 extra cancer cases in more deprived areas of Britain every year, according to Cancer Research UK. That’s almost 60 additional diagnoses a day and an “unacceptable reality in 2020”, the charity says.
The 20,000 figure may be sobering, but for many health experts, it’s not surprising. We’ve known for decades that significant health inequalities exist in the UK. And it’s not just cancer that’s affected; life expectancy also strongly correlates with wealth.