Innovative cancer tests have been used throughout Cheshire this year as the NHS recorded a record number of life-saving referrals in the last 12 months.

Cheshire has seen two cutting edge trials used throughout the borough to identify cancers faster than ever before as the NHS recorded higher numbers of checks than were seen before the pandemic.

Over 370,000 people in the North West were referred for cancer checks - a rise of more than 15 percent since the year before the virus - and a total of almost three million have been tested in England overall.

NHS cancer chiefs continue to urge people to come forward still as the latest figures show record numbers of people have received vital NHS cancer tests in the last year.

The NHS say that even at the peak of the Omicron wave, referrals for suspected cancer were at 116% of pre-pandemic levels with around 11,000 people getting checked every day.

Cheshire and Merseyside have also been the site of innovative trials and treatment, helping to combat cancer faster than previously thought possible.

The Grail Galleri trial has been working its way across Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire and is currently in Wirral. In studies, the Galleri test has shown the ability to detect multiple types of cancers through a single blood draw. Most of these cancers cannot be detected through current screening tests. When cancer signals are detected, the Galleri test localised the cancer signal with high accuracy, helping inform next steps to diagnosis. The test has recently reached its halfway milestone of 70,000 tests across the country.

In Cheshire and Merseyside, a potentially life-saving ‘sponge on a string’ test is set to improve cancer diagnosis and has been used by St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust.

The device, known as Cytosponge, will help to identify patients at most risk of oesophageal cancer – cancer of the gullet – and ease pressure on hospital endoscopy services.

The Royal Liverpool Hospital have also performed the first synchronised robotic surgery for bowel and prostate cancer in the North West this month.

The NHS is keen for people to get checked as soon as possible and highlights common symptoms of cancer as lumps or bumps and unexplained weight loss or fatigue.

NHS North West Medical Director, Dr David Levy, said: "It is truly excellent news that the NHS has seen record-breaking numbers of people coming forward for cancer checks in the past 12 months.

"If you think you have symptoms that could be linked to cancer, it can be an incredibly daunting thing to think about what to do, not just for yourself but the implications for your family. Nine in ten who are checked turn out not to have cancer but that it is better to know so that people can get treated early when chances of survival are highest.

"As someone with a clinical background in cancer care, it’s good to see that so many people in the North West understand it’s important to get that diagnosis early. Equally it’s also possible you may be worrying unnecessarily, and you may have something that is less serious. Either way, what is important it to get checked."

"NHS staff have pulled out all the stops to ensure cancer was prioritised throughout the pandemic. The NHS is here for you so don’t let cancer play on your mind – get checked without delay."

Dame Cally Palmer, National Cancer Director for NHS England, said: "We are going further and faster than ever before in our ambitions to diagnose more cancers at an earlier stage so that we can save more lives.

"We have seen record numbers of people coming forward for checks in the last year, but we know there are still at least 30,000 who haven’t started treatment due to the pandemic, so it’s vital that we keep these referral rates high.

"While we know this can’t happen overnight, we’re investing in extra diagnostic and treatment capacity to meet increasing demand, with staff working hard to roll out initiatives from straight to test services, cancer symptom hotlines and innovative diagnostics, so that those who are coming forward for checks can be seen quickly and their cancer identified at an earlier stage."