AROUND seven in ten people across the Bradford district are now surviving for at least a year after being told they have cancer, new figures have revealed.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, an average of 69 per cent of people across the district's three Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) were still alive a year after being diagnosed with some form of cancer in 2012.

The rate has increased by nine per cent since the same data was collected in 1997, when the one-year survival rate across the Bradford district was just 60 per cent.

The highest one-year survival rate across the district in 2012, 72.5 per cent, was in the Airedale, Wharfedale, and Craven CCG, up from 64.1 per cent in 1997, and 68.9 per cent in 2008.

In the Bradford Districts CCG - which serves areas including Bingley, Shipley, Saltaire, Heaton, and Tong - the rate by 2012 was 70.1 per cent, up from 58.9 per cent in 1997, and 66.9 per cent in 2008.

The figure for the Bradford City CCG, which covers the city centre, had risen to 65.1 per cent in 2012, up from 55.8 per cent in 1997, and 63.3 per cent in 2008.

The City CCG is the only area of the district where the 2012 figure was below the West Yorkshire and national averages, which stood at 69 per cent and 69.3 per cent, respectively.

Dr Ian Fenwick, the district's clinical lead for cancer, said: "We are very pleased that more people across Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven are surviving cancer.

"This is due to a combination of factors including early diagnosis, fast-track treatment and excellent support services.

"People of all ages in the district have access to a range of high quality cancer services, which are provided by specialist healthcare professionals.

"Cancer treatment can be complex, but is always based on what is appropriate for each individual patient.

"While our local cancer survival rates for patients are good, it is always important for everyone to be aware of any unusual symptoms and get them checked out by their GP, and to take up any screening invites they receive from the NHS."

Elaine Kilgannon, development manager for the Macmillan cancer charity in Bradford, said increased survival rates meant the services it provided to support cancer patients were changing.

“The fact that more people are surviving cancer, due to better treatment and earlier diagnosis, is something to be celebrated.

"We do, however, need to add a serious note of caution, the more successful we are with treatment and cure, the more people we have living with the long-term effects of cancer.

"That is why we are investing in services which support the patient beyond treatment, such as the survivorship project for people with head and neck cancer in Bradford, helping patients plan for their future care needs by focusing on their physical, emotional, psychological, and social well-being."