More cancer patients are having their illness detected at the earliest possible stage, new figures show.
Official statistics show that 24.3% of all breast, lung and bowel cancers in Scotland in 2012 and 2013 were detected at "stage one", when the disease is easier to treat and there is generally a better chance of a survival.
The figure was up 4.7% on the combined period of 2010 and 2011.
It comes as cancer cases across the country continue to rise. In 2012, nearly 15,800 people died of the disease in Scotland and almost 30,500 people were diagnosed with cancer.
Lung, colorectal and breast cancers are the most common forms of the disease, accounting for 44% of all cancers diagnosed in Scotland in 2012.
The Scottish Government has welcomed the increase in early detection rates.
In February 2012 ministers launched the Detect Cancer Early (DCE) programme, which aims to increase the percentage of people who are diagnosed at stage one by 25% by the end of 2015.
Health Secretary Alex Neil said: "Cancer is a word that most of us dread hearing and dealing with a cancer diagnosis can be both difficult and scary.
"However it can be treated and beaten when detected at an early stage.
"That's why I welcome that more cancers in Scotland are being detected at the earliest stage possible."
He pointed to multi-million pound investments in cancer research, state-of-the-art equipment and the creation of a new £22 million Beatson Centre at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire.
Mr Neil went on: "Our £30 million Detect Cancer Early programme has also resulted in a 50% increase in the number of women consulting their GP with breast symptoms in the first three months of our Elaine C Smith campaign, which was the first advert in the UK to show real pictures of women's breasts with visible signs of breast cancer.
"There has also been a 21% increase in the proportion of lung cancers diagnosed at stage one - this increase is mainly due to better data capture.
"However, when it comes to cancer we will always fight for more because even more lives can be saved in Scotland through earlier detection.
"Health boards must continue to target specific communities to encourage more Scots to get checked early."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article