CANCER remains perhaps the most feared disease in the Western world. Such is its power to inspire terror and dread that there are people who feel superstitiously uncomfortable about even saying the word.

But there are ways to slew the odds of recovery in the favour of the patient, and one of the most important is prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Therefore, Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust is due congratulations for ensuring that more than 99 percent of suspected cases reach a specialist within two weeks more than the national average.