Every year, about 27,000 people in Scotland are told they have cancer and trends predict that the number is likely to rise to almost 35,000 in 2016-2020. The total number of people diagnosed with the disease is increasing year on year, largely due to the increasing number of elderly people in the population and the fact that life expectancy is increasing.
Over the last 20 years, almost all cancers have shown improvement in survival 5 years after diagnosis and survival from cancer in Scotland is similar to that in England and Wales.
In the last decade, overall cancer mortality rates have decreased. Cancer remains a national clinical priority for NHSScotland and Better Cancer Care was launched in October 2008 to set out a series of actions and key priorities that will make a real difference to the services and support provided in Scotland.