A borough public health chief whose mum died from lung cancer just two months after being diagnosed is backing a new plan for the North West which includes stricter rules on smoking.

Rebecca Fletcher, who is public health director for Oldham, lost her mum, Lesley Fletcher, to lung cancer.

Now, she is backing Cancer Research UK's ambitious career plan for how the next government could curb around 2,300 cancer deaths a year in the North West by 2040 and prevent most people like Lesley losing their life to cancer.

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Ahead of the next general election, Cancer Research UK has published "Longer, better lives: a manifesto for cancer research and care", which outlines five key missions to speed up progress in preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.

One of the plan's five key missions is to end cancers caused by smoking by raising the age of sale of tobacco and to fund a world-leading programme of measures to help people who smoke to quit.

The Oldham Times: Lesley Fletcher died just two months after receiving a diagnosis of lung cancerLesley Fletcher died just two months after receiving a diagnosis of lung cancer (Image: Cancer Research UK)

Rebecca, who was brought up in Sandbach in Cheshire, said her mum was always smoking when she was a youngster in the 1970s.

In 2009, the mum-of-two was struggling with depression and mental health issues and hadn't paid attention to a persistent cough.

Then in October of that year, Lesley was diagnosed with lung cancer.

The disease was already so advanced that she was unable to start treatment.

She was given pain relief and died the day after Boxing Day, aged 63, at Wythenshawe Hospital, just two months after being diagnosed.

Rebecca's dad, Ian Fletcher, had stopped smoking a few years before Lesley's diagnosis and now lives in Dorset with Rebecca's older sister, Victoria, while Rebecca lives in Salford with her partner, Mike.

The Oldham Times: Ian and Rebecca FletcherIan and Rebecca Fletcher (Image: Cancer Research UK)

Thanks to research, cancer survival in the UK has doubled since the 1970s.

But the charity is warning that with NHS cancer services in crisis and with rising numbers of new cancer cases, more than an estimated 58,000 a year projected in the North West by 2040, this hard-won progress is at risk of stalling.  

The UK still lags behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival, it said, and called on all political parties to make cancer a top priority in their party manifestos.   

The charity says whoever assumes office after the general election must commit to developing a 10-year cancer plan and plug the more than £1 billion funding gap for research into cancer.

The Oldham Times: The mother-of-two was just 63 when she died The mother-of-two was just 63 when she died (Image: Cancer Research UK)

Cancer Research UK has also called for improved early detection of cancer through initiatives including a lung screening programme, action to ensure cancer wait time targets are met and the establishment of a National Cancer Council, accountable to the Prime Minister, to drive cross-government action on the disease. 

Rebecca is determined that politicians get the message that beating cancer is vitally important to voters like her and says the next general election needs to be a turning point for people affected by the disease.  

The 47-year-old said: “It was devastating to lose my mum to lung cancer.

"Particularly as she died so quickly after being diagnosed.

“That’s why I’m backing Cancer Research UK’s manifesto.

“There are so many pressures at the moment with funding and the state of cancer services across England, but the politicians must make sure that people affected by cancer don’t pay the price for this now and in the future.

“So many people’s lives are touched by this disease and the numbers are only growing.

"That’s why we all need to get behind this manifesto and have our voices heard, so that more families like mine can enjoy more moments with the people they love.” 

Cancer Research estimates there are around 19,500 cancer deaths in the north west every year and with a growing and ageing population, the number of people dying from cancer in the region could rise to around 24,000 a year by 2040.

Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the North West, Jane Bullock, added: “We’re grateful to Rebecca for her support.

"We've made huge progress in beating cancer over the last 50 years - but it remains the defining health issue of our time.

"Cases are rising and we estimate that half a million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the UK every year by 2040.

"People continue to face unacceptable delays to diagnosis and treatment and the UK lags behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival.  

“The public expect and deserve action.

"We calculate that the recommendations made within our manifesto will reduce cancer mortality by 15 per cent by 2040.

“But only if we act now.

"I urge everyone to support the manifesto and sign our open letter to party leaders.

"The prize is a legacy of lifesaving cancer research and care that will benefit the UK for decades to come.” 

In response, the government said it is tackling cancer diagnosis and survival rates.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Cancer is being diagnosed at an earlier stage, more often, with survival rates improving across almost all types of cancer and the NHS seeing and treating record numbers of cancer patients over the last two years.

“Our Major Conditions Strategy will set out how we will improve cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment and we have opened 136 community diagnostic centres offering over five million additional tests, including for cancer.

“Research and the life sciences are crucial in the fight against cancer, which is why we invest £1 billion per year through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and brokered new partnerships with BioNTech and Moderna which will enable patients in the NHS to be the first in the world to benefit from potential cancer vaccines.”

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