:00:00. > :00:00.Our top stories: Catching cancer quicker in Wales.
:00:00. > :00:07.Two research projects are launched to speed up diagnosis
:00:08. > :00:15.And on St David's Day you tell us what matters to you when it comes
:00:16. > :00:34.to winning your vote in the Welsh election.
:00:35. > :00:38.Why does Wales perform worse than similar countries when it comes
:00:39. > :00:42.That's one of the questions a new research project,
:00:43. > :00:45.described as the first of its kind in the world,
:00:46. > :00:51.The study, along with another looking at new treatments for bowel
:00:52. > :00:54.cancer, are being given ?1.6 million by the charity
:00:55. > :00:59.Here's our Health Correspondent Owain Clarke.
:01:00. > :01:02.Around 19,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in Wales last year
:01:03. > :01:08.Survival rates are worse here than in many other developed countries.
:01:09. > :01:11.This woman considers herself to be exceptionally lucky.
:01:12. > :01:14.She spotted signs of her own cancer early
:01:15. > :01:25.You go in because you think you've seen something but you are not sure,
:01:26. > :01:28.and within 15 minutes you're lying on a bed and doctors are talking
:01:29. > :01:32.And suddenly you hear for the first time, cancer,
:01:33. > :01:37.It is just the most surreal experience, because you are just
:01:38. > :01:48.But the earlier the cancer is spotted, the better the results.
:01:49. > :01:51.But there are concerns GPs can be too slow to send patients
:01:52. > :01:57.Cancer Research Wales is giving a project in Bangor,
:01:58. > :02:02.led by a GP, in Bangor ?800,000 to find out.
:02:03. > :02:04.They are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
:02:05. > :02:07.They are under pressure to minimise health service costs and not make
:02:08. > :02:09.inappropriate referrals or organise expensive testing but on the other
:02:10. > :02:12.hand there is a challenge that they have to face up
:02:13. > :02:17.people who have symptoms of early cancer,
:02:18. > :02:21.and referring them quicker and getting the right investigations.
:02:22. > :02:27.Cancer Research Wales was formed when a group of professors
:02:28. > :02:29.at this hospital in Cardiff joined forces.
:02:30. > :02:35.It has grown substantially over the decades and now the charity
:02:36. > :02:37.spends ?1 million a year on 50 Wales-based cancer research
:02:38. > :02:42.The ?1.6 million extra it is spending this year
:02:43. > :02:45.is being described as an unprecedented boost
:02:46. > :02:51.?800,000 will be used to develop ways of diagnosing cancer earlier.
:02:52. > :02:53.And another ?800,000 will be spent trying to develop new therapies
:02:54. > :02:55.to tackle a big killer, bowel cancer.
:02:56. > :02:59.It is the second most common type of cancer in Wales.
:03:00. > :03:02.A team in Cardiff is spearheading efforts to get the body's immune
:03:03. > :03:11.system to target and destroy cancer cells.
:03:12. > :03:19.We want to make treatments available for everyone,
:03:20. > :03:21.whether you develop colorectal cancer in the third World
:03:22. > :03:27.To do this, we can identify common targets, which we find
:03:28. > :03:33.Around 9000 people die of cancer each year in Wales,
:03:34. > :03:36.yet we have some of the lowest survival rates in Western Europe.
:03:37. > :03:47.It is hoped that this research will help narrow the gap.
:03:48. > :03:55.Some breaking news. In the last few minutes a former lifeguard has been
:03:56. > :04:00.sentenced to 50 years in prison for raping a ten-year-old girl in the
:04:01. > :04:03.United States. Gareth Vincent Hall from near Caernarfon admitted
:04:04. > :04:08.travelling to Oregon to rape the girl he met online.
:04:09. > :04:10.It looks like health will be the biggest single issue that
:04:11. > :04:15.election this May. to the polls in the Welsh Assembly
:04:16. > :04:17.But BBC Wales' annual St David's Day poll suggests that there's
:04:18. > :04:19.still some confusion over who runs the Welsh NHS.
:04:20. > :04:21.With those and other findings, our political reporter
:04:22. > :04:26.With the Assembly Election on the horizon, BBC Wales' annual
:04:27. > :04:30.St David's Day poll has been gauging the political temperature.
:04:31. > :04:34.Our survey suggests one third of people say that health
:04:35. > :04:38.would be their top issue when they cast their votes
:04:39. > :04:43.18% put jobs at the top the list, and 14% said immigration
:04:44. > :04:48.Despite voters placing health as the top electoral issue,
:04:49. > :04:52.our poll suggests that confusion persists about who runs the Welsh
:04:53. > :04:54.NHS, because despite 65% of people saying, correctly,
:04:55. > :05:00.that it is run by health ministers in Cardiff,
:05:01. > :05:04.just under one third were mistaken in thinking that it was run
:05:05. > :05:11.It is interesting that we have a slight increase in understanding
:05:12. > :05:14.that the Welsh government makes the key critical decisions around
:05:15. > :05:19.health in Wales, and I suspect that is as a result of some
:05:20. > :05:23.of the quite vitriolic attacks on the performance
:05:24. > :05:25.and the governance in the NHS in Wales
:05:26. > :05:27.that have come from the UK Government.
:05:28. > :05:29.Celebrating Wales' National Day, from Downing Street,
:05:30. > :05:34.How do people feel about the transfer of power
:05:35. > :05:40.Our poll indicated that 43% of voters would like the Welsh Assembly
:05:41. > :05:46.to have more powers, 30% thought it had sufficient
:05:47. > :05:50.current powers, 13% would like it abolished completely,
:05:51. > :05:54.and 6% supported independence for Wales.
:05:55. > :05:59.Another question we asked was, can you name these four people?
:06:00. > :06:01.These are the Welsh Police and Crime Commissioners,
:06:02. > :06:03.elected to ensure that police forces are run properly
:06:04. > :06:06.but 89% of our respondents could not name many of them.
:06:07. > :06:17.I know that one chap, from Newport, Gwent.
:06:18. > :06:32.It is no surprise to some given that just under 15% of people in Wales
:06:33. > :06:36.voted in the first elections back in 2012.
:06:37. > :06:42.There was no significant awareness rasing of the role
:06:43. > :06:48.That needs to be embraced now, to make people aware of exactly
:06:49. > :06:50.what commissioners do now and what their function can be
:06:51. > :06:55.Elections for policing Crime Commissioners will be held
:06:56. > :07:05.on the same day as the Assembly Election, on 5th May.
:07:06. > :07:07.St David's Day greetings have been sent from space.
:07:08. > :07:10.The British astronaut Tim Peake posted this image of Wales
:07:11. > :07:12.on Twitter, taken from the International Space Station.
:07:13. > :07:15.Croeso on board the International Space Station.
:07:16. > :07:18.From leading the SPIRE instrument on the Herschel spacecraft.
:07:19. > :07:21.To providing most of the glass for the solar panels
:07:22. > :07:24.here on the International Space Station, Wales is an important part
:07:25. > :07:31.From up here, it's all so beautiful looking down on Snowdon,
:07:32. > :07:37.So, I'd like to wish you all a very happy Saint David's Day.
:07:38. > :07:48.Back on Earth one football result for you tonight.
:07:49. > :07:50.Football, and Newport County were beaten comfortably by Crawley
:07:51. > :07:53.tonight, a 2-0 home victory for the English side.
:07:54. > :07:55.It means Warren Feeney's side remain eight points above the relegation
:07:56. > :07:59.Warnings of ice and snow heading our way, Sue Charles
:08:00. > :08:10.Good evening. 1st March, St David's Day, also the start of
:08:11. > :08:12.meteorological spring, but we're in for a real taste of winter again
:08:13. > :08:14.tomorrow with some snow and strong winds.
:08:15. > :08:16.This cold front pushes through tonight.
:08:17. > :08:18.The air turns colder behind it and then these next weather systems
:08:19. > :08:20.are likely to bring wintry showers
:08:21. > :08:23.Clear for a time overnight but colder air returns.
:08:24. > :08:26.Snow likely on higher ground and an ice
:08:27. > :08:41.risk too, with strong winds making a real wind-chill.
:08:42. > :08:42.Could be heavy showers early tomorrow.
:08:43. > :08:46.One to four centimetres possible, especially
:08:47. > :08:49.across North Wales, and a wintry mix of rain and sleet and snow showers
:08:50. > :08:52.possible along this front as it moves south east across the UK.
:08:53. > :08:53.Some brighter spells between the showers,
:08:54. > :08:57.Just four degrees Celsius in north-east Scotland.
:08:58. > :09:00.Nine degrees Celsius in the milder air in South
:09:01. > :09:04.A warning of strong winds across West Wales tomorrow.
:09:05. > :09:08.More north-westerly as well, making it colder.
:09:09. > :09:11.Highs of five degrees Celsius in Wrexham, eight in Pembrokeshire.
:09:12. > :09:21.Tomorrow night winds not quite as strong,
:09:22. > :09:25.Generally turning a bit dryer overnight but frost in rural spots.
:09:26. > :09:27.Respite on Thursday, a span of drier weather before this
:09:28. > :09:29.next front pushes in from the Atlantic later on.
:09:30. > :09:37.A quieter and brighter day but turning cloudy with some rain later.
:09:38. > :09:40.It may be the first week of spring but a return to winter
:09:41. > :09:43.tomorrow and a fairly changeable week to come.
:09:44. > :09:55.More on all of our stories on the website.
:09:56. > :10:01.From all of us on the programme, good night.