NHS Waltham Forest (the primary care trust) has blamed the borough's low survival rates for bowel and lung cancer on patients for not participating in screening programmes early enough.
Government figures published this week showed that only 57.9 per cent of patients diagnosed with bowel cancer in the borough survive a year, the second lowest figure in the country.
The figure for lung cancer is 21.8 per cent, the lowest in London.
An NHS Waltham Forest spokesman said instances of bowel cancer are low in the borough but Waltham Forest's survival rates have been poor.
He said: “For this reason, NHS Waltham Forest was one of the early adopters of bowel cancer screening ahead of the national roll-out.
“Our bowel cancer screening rates are improving but still only 48% of people over the age of 60 who are the group who are eligible for the screening programme are currently participating.”
The spokesman said there has been a problem with awareness about cancer screening in the borough which the trust is trying to rectify.
The report links later diagnosis as a key factor behind low survival rates.
Waltham Forest's survival rate for breast cancer was relatively low at 93.1 per cent, but was better than several London boroughs including Newham, Hackney, Barnet, Lambeth and Ealing.
The Government report showed wide variations in bowel cancer survival rates across the country, with some places, such as Telford in the west Midlands achieving a rate of more than 80 per cent.
Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research chief executive, said: “These shocking statistics confirm that the cancer postcode lottery remains a real problem.
“Patients are undoubtedly not being diagnosed early enough in large parts of the country, nor are they getting equal access to the best treatments.“
Andy Burnham, health secretary said: “We know that survival rates vary across the country, particularly in deprived areas, so this year’s report has deliberately focused on local variations so we can highlight to the NHS where they need to take action.”
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