Hansard

I thank my colleague Clare Adamson for bringing the motion to the chamber today and reminding us of the impact that pancreatic cancer can have on all of us. I think that every member who contributed talked about somebody in their lives who was lost to pancreatic cancer, and I have lost close friends, too.

I thank Pancreatic Cancer UK, Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland and the range of other pancreatic cancer charities for their continued efforts to raise awareness and to support people who face pancreatic cancer. As Clare Adamson and other members did, I welcome their sea of purple to the Scottish Parliament.

I also thank colleagues for sharing such valuable contributions to the debate. Willie Coffey and Marie McNair both listed the symptoms. That is really important, because we can use our positions to let people know what the symptoms are. Before I spoke in a similar debate in my first year in Parliament, the sister-in-law of one of my constituents had given me the salient piece of advice that we should recognise and listen to changes in our bodies and do something about them.

As has been mentioned, the Scottish Government published our ambitious 10-year cancer strategy in June last year. We remain determined to improve cancer survival rates and provide excellent and equitable care for all people who face cancer. The strategy takes a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways in cancer, from prevention and diagnosis right through to treatment and post-treatment care. We continue to focus on improving the outcomes of the less survivable cancers, including pancreatic cancer, and I pay tribute to the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce.

As Willie Coffey and other members said, research and innovation are essential if we are to continue to develop new and effective approaches to improve diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Through our chief scientist office, the Scottish Government supports grant and fellowship schemes for health research in Scotland. We are funding a clinical academic fellowship and, alongside NHS Education for Scotland, we have recently provided funding for a postdoctoral clinical lectureship. Both those roles are at the University of Glasgow and involve research that relates to pancreatic cancer.

The chief scientist office also provides a range of funding and support through NHS Research Scotland, which allows health boards to host and participate in clinical research studies and trials. That helps to foster a strong research culture in our NHS, and we are supporting a range of clinical studies that are investigating different treatments for pancreatic cancer.

In partnership with Cancer Research UK, we co-fund the experimental cancer medicine centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Those centres form part of a UK-wide network that supports the delivery of early-phase cancer studies.

I welcome Pancreatic Cancer UK’s research investment of more than £1 million in Scotland, and I was pleased to hear its recent announcement of nearly £600,000 to support research into early diagnosis and treatment. As Clare Adamson and Carol Mochan said, that is life-saving and valuable work.

As we know, November is pancreatic cancer awareness month. To mark that and world pancreatic cancer day, we will again light up St Andrew’s house in purple on 21 November. As Willie Coffey said, raising awareness of pancreatic cancer and its common symptoms is crucial in detecting this devastating cancer early, to ensure the most appropriate care and optimal experience for people with pancreatic cancer.

We recognise how important it is that people are diagnosed and supported through treatment and care as quickly as possible. As Finlay Carson and other members said, late diagnosis is a concern, which is why the Scottish Government continues to invest in our detect cancer earlier programme, because we understand that the earlier cancer is detected, the easier it is to treat.

We reran our successful awareness campaign “Be the early bird” back in August. That campaign aims to reduce the fear of cancer and to empower and encourage those with possible symptoms to act as early as possible.

By continuing to invest in cancer diagnostics and waiting times, we are striving to detect cancer earlier and faster. We are optimising diagnostic pathways and will activate an additional rapid cancer diagnostic service early next year, which will bring the national total to six. It is important to recognise that the rapid cancer diagnostic services are finding cancer faster and that human papillomavirus cancers, which include pancreatic cancer, are one of the most commonly identified cancers through those services, making up 17 per cent of them in a recent evaluation.

We acknowledge the dreadful impact that a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer can bring to the person who is facing the disease and to their family. The importance of person-centred care cannot be stressed enough. It ensures that all patients get access to support throughout their cancer journey and that their voices and needs are heard.

The Scottish Government continues to support the single point of contact programme in 12 sites across Scotland. The programme sets out to make sure that all people who are facing cancer have a constant point of contact that they can continually refer back to. That is so important in improving the patient’s experience as they progress through investigation, treatment and post-treatment support. The single point of contact will ensure that patients receive timely and accurate advice on their appointments, tests and results. It will also offer them the opportunity to discuss the non-clinical support that is available, which includes linking them with other organisations that can provide the support that is needed. We have commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to consider how best to scale up that approach to benefit all patients.

As was highlighted earlier, we have invested in the pilot Scottish care and co-ordination service for hepato-pancreato-biliary cancers as a potential way of delivering pathway improvements. Our initial investment in that pilot was extended for a further year to March 2025 to allow us to consider how best to take forward the learning from that work. Following an extensive appraisal, we are actively considering how best to improve patient pathways in an equitable, evidenced and sustainable way. I appreciate the points that have been made tonight, and I understand that the cabinet secretary is meeting the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Pancreatic Cancer Action and the British Liver Trust later this month. I am also happy to meet the task force, but that meeting is in the diary.

I make clear the Scottish Government’s enduring commitment to improving pancreatic cancer awareness. In doing so, we can improve early diagnosis rates as well as the patient’s experience and overall outcomes. It is crucial that we continue to raise awareness of cancer symptoms—particularly of less survivable cancers such as pancreatic cancer. I gratefully thank all those who are helping to do so.