Ministers have unveiled an ambitious £2billion blueprint to overhaul NHS cancer services in England, setting a target for three-quarters of patients to survive the disease by 2035.
The national cancer plan represents a significant commitment to address what experts have described as a “national emergency” in cancer care.
Currently, approximately six in ten patients survive five years or more following diagnosis, but the Government’s strategy aims to boost this figure to 75 per cent, meaning patients would either be cancer-free or living well with the disease under control.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, achieving this goal would result in 320,000 additional lives saved over the decade-long programme.
Six in ten patients currently survive five years or more following diagnosis
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Cancer remains Britain’s leading cause of death, accounting for roughly one in four fatalities. The strategy sets out several concrete pledges to transform cancer treatment across the country.
All three NHS waiting time standards for cancer care will be met by 2029, ministers have announced. These targets have not been achieved since 2015.
A £2.3billion investment will fund 9.5 million additional diagnostic tests over the coming years, with resources directed towards new scanners, digital technology and automated testing systems.
Some community diagnostic centres will extend their operating hours to twelve hours daily, seven days a week.
Robot-assisted surgical procedures will expand dramatically, rising from 70,000 currently to half a million by 2035. This expansion is expected to reduce complications and free up hospital beds.
Every eligible patient will also receive genomic testing to analyse their cancer’s DNA and identify optimal treatments.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting brings a personal perspective to the initiative, having been diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2021 at the age of 38.
“As a cancer survivor who owes my life to the NHS, I owe it to future patients to make sure they receive the same outstanding care I did,” he said.
Mr Streeting acknowledged that cancer was “more likely to be a death sentence in Britain than other countries around the world” but expressed determination to reverse this troubling reality.
“Thanks to the revolution in medical science and technology, we have the opportunity to transform the life chances of cancer patients,” he added.
The Health Secretary pledged that the plan would “slash waits, invest in cutting-edge technology, and give every patient the best possible chance of beating cancer”.
Cancer charities have broadly welcomed the strategy while raising questions about its delivery.
Chief executive of Cancer Research UK, Michelle Mitchell, said: “England lags behind comparable countries on cancer survival, and it’s vital that this changes, so more people affected by cancer can live longer, better lives.”
She cautioned that “too many cancer patients” continued to face excessive delays before commencing treatment.
Sarah Woolnough, who leads the King’s Fund health thinktank, described the proposals as “bold” and “ambitious” but expressed scepticism about their achievability.
Many cancer patients face excessive delays before commencing treatment
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GETTYShe warned that ministers must not “put the cart before the horse” and urged equal attention to basic infrastructure improvements.
“The system as it stands will not meet the cancer treatment standards by 2029 unless there is a big step-change,” Ms Woolnough said.