Revolutionising cancer care: A vital call

As reported by The Independent,  Cancer Research UK’s report calls for swift measures, increased staffing, and a national cancer council, emphasizing the need for a transformative approach to improve survival rates in the UK

Some 20,000 lives could be saved every year in the UK by 2040 if the government adopts a bold new plan for cancer, experts have said.

Cancer Research UK has published a report calling for more action to speed up diagnosis, get people treated quickly and recruit 16,000 more full-time cancer staff by 2029.

The NHS has already set a target to diagnose 75 per cent of cancers at the earliest stages of one or two by 2028 but experts have said this target will be missed.

Cancer Research UK is now calling for bolder action and the creation of a national cancer council accountable to the prime minister.

Cancer survival has doubled over the last 50 years but the UK still lags behind many other comparable countries when it comes to how long people live.

The report said cancer is a “fixable problem”, pointing out that 30 years ago England and Denmark were improving cancer outcomes at broadly the same rate but Denmark has now “raced ahead, with consistent funding and long-term cancer strategies”.

It said: “Across the UK, cancer waiting times are being consistently missed, and some have not been met for over a decade.

“While they wait for diagnosis and treatment, patients and their families face an anxious and worrying time.

“Investment in prevention, NHS staff, equipment and facilities is needed to turn the tide.”

The report said the “inequalities in who gets and dies from cancer are stark, with more than 33,000 cases each year across the UK attributable to deprivation”.

Professor Sir Mike Richards, former national cancer director at the Department of Health, who now advises NHS England, told a briefing there is much work to do to improve diagnosis, treatment and survival.

He said: “Why do we have poor survival?

“Well, it is a combination, of course, of diagnosing people at a later stage of the disease and then inconsistencies in treatment.

“The late stage problem is a big one. Nearly half of all patients with cancer are diagnosed at stage three and four. They have poor prognosis compared to those in stage one and two.

“We are not currently on target for the Government’s target of 75 per cent being diagnosed (at early stages) by 2028.

“There’s a lot we can do: we can improve our screening programmes, we can improve our diagnosis of symptomatic patients and we can reduce inequalities in treatment.”