Rochdale cancer deaths higher than English average

40 people die from cancer each year in Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton, who would not have died if the area had the same death rates from cancer as England and Wales, according to a report released today, Monday 17 December.

Cancer deaths in the area could be as much as 9.9% higher than the English average.

The report by the North West Cancer Intelligence Service (NWCIS) shows that the majority of these excess deaths are from lung cancer, which, it states, underlines the importance of tobacco control.

In Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton 20 more males and 20 more females die each year from cancer than elsewhere in the country. Of these 40 deaths, 32 are from lung cancer. The report suggests that Rochdale, Heywood, and Middleton PCT is in a deprived area and hence has high rates of lung cancer.

A spokesman for the NWCIS said: "These results underline the strong relationship between deprivation and high levels of excess deaths for all cancers combined and for lung cancer.

"The relationship between high rates and high levels of deprivation is even more striking for lung cancer than for all cancers combined due to the close association between smoking and deprivation."

Excess female deaths from breast cancer in Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton are among the highest in the North West with a rate above 9.9% more than the average in England and Wales.

Throughout the North West 1,300 more people die from cancer compared with the average in England and Wales. There are 355 extra deaths in Liverpool, while in Central and Eastern Cheshire 50 fewer people die from cancer than the country's average.