{"id":413439,"date":"2026-02-07T20:13:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T20:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/413439\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T20:13:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T20:13:31","slug":"nhs-cancer-plan-expects-to-save-75-of-sufferers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/413439\/","title":{"rendered":"NHS cancer plan expects to save 75% of sufferers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three in four cancer patients will survive the disease thanks to a \u201crevolution\u201d in medicine over the next ten years, the government has promised.<\/p>\n

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, announced a national cancer plan to improve NHS care, which he said would save 320,000 lives by 2035.<\/p>\n

Long waiting times mean \u201ccancer is more likely to be a death sentence in Britain than other countries\u201d, Streeting said. Britain lags behind Romania and Poland in survival for some cancers. <\/p>\n

The plan involves spending \u00a32.3 billion on scanning equipment and testing technology to speed up diagnosis and a significant expansion of robotic surgery.<\/p>\n

Only 60 per cent of patients survive for five years or more after diagnosis, but the government has set a target that, from 2035 , at least 75 per cent will be cured or \u201cliving well\u201d with the disease after five years.<\/p>\n

A \u201cgolden age\u201d of medicine, involving more personalised treatments, means new drugs are being deployed on the NHS to provide cures for previously deadly types of the disease. <\/p>\n

The government has committed itself to meeting three NHS<\/a> cancer waiting times targets by March 2029. These have not been met since 2014, meaning thousands of patients every year face potentially deadly waits of more than two months before starting treatment.<\/p>\n

Streeting<\/a> gave the example of a friend, Nathaniel Dye, who died of bowel cancer last week after waiting 106 days \u2014 twice the NHS target \u2014 to be diagnosed, by which time it was too late. Streeting, who was himself diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2021, said: \u201cAs 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis plan will slash waits, invest in cutting-edge technology, and give every patient the best possible chance of beating cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nathaniel<\/p>\n

Nathaniel Dye died of bowel cancer last week<\/p>\n

NATHANIEL DYE\/PA<\/p>\n

Reforms include offering all cancer patients genetic testing to help match them with drugs that target specific mutations in their tumours. Streeting said the NHS would enter an \u201cage of personalised medicine\u201d, ending \u201cone size fits all\u201d care. <\/p>\n

The number of patients having robot-assisted surgery, which is more precise and improves recovery time, will expand from 70,000 a year to 500,000. More patients will be able to arrange evening and weekend appointments for diagnostic scans to check for cancer. The NHS promised an extra 9.5 million tests by 2029.<\/p>\n

Britain lags about ten years behind other western nations, including Australia, Denmark, France and Norway, in terms of cancer survival rates<\/a>, mainly because of late diagnosis and treatment. NHS data shows only 70 per cent of patients started treatment within 62 days of diagnosis, below the target of 85 per cent.<\/p>\n

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: \u201cEngland lags behind comparable countries on cancer survival and it\u2019s vital that this changes, so more people affected by cancer can live longer, better lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health experts doubt that the \u201cbold ambition\u201d of meeting cancer waiting times targets by 2029 can be achieved. <\/p>\n

\"Keir<\/p>\n

Sir Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting talk with pharmacists in Wimbledon, London<\/p>\n

ADRIAN DENNIS\/POOL\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Sarah Scobie, Nuffield Trust deputy director of research, said that meeting the 62-day target would \u201cmean the NHS improving at 30 times the rate it has managed since April\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King\u2019s Fund, said: \u201cThe system as it stands will not meet the cancer treatment standards by 2029 unless there is a big step change.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was lucky \u2014 but Nat\u2019s diagnosis came too late<\/p>\n

By Wes Streeting, Health Secretary<\/p>\n

My cancer was caught early, on an unrelated trip to A&E. It was treated quickly and my recovery was fine. I was lucky enough to have a boss who didn\u2019t just support me, he promoted me to the shadow cabinet.<\/p>\n

My friend Nathaniel Dye had a very different experience. Between seeing his GP and beginning his treatment in 2023, he waited 106 days, almost twice the NHS target. By the time he was finally seen it was too late and he was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer.<\/p>\n

Nat didn\u2019t let that hold him back from living his life to the full. He played music, continued teaching and ran the London Marathon to fundraise for Macmillan. Sadly, Nat died last week. That\u2019s the difference between an NHS that is there for us when we need it and the health service falling short.<\/p>\n

The decade-long mission of our national cancer plan, published on Monday, is to close that gap and change the odds of surviving cancer for everyone. Our plan will invest billions in cutting-edge technology, new treatments and faster diagnosis. By taking advantage of the scientific revolution taking place before our eyes, we can transform the life chances for cancer patients.<\/p>\n

\"Nathaniel<\/p>\n

Nathaniel Dye with Kim Leadbeater<\/p>\n

DAVID PARRY\/PA<\/p>\n

Our ambition is for three in four people diagnosed with cancer to be cancer-free or living well for five years after diagnosis within the next ten years. That translates to about 320,000 lives saved in ten years. These are parents watching their children grow up; grandparents meeting their grandchildren.<\/p>\n

A \u00a32.3 billion investment will provide 9.5 million more diagnostic tests over the next three years. Treatment must also modernise. The robot-assisted surgery I received cut the risk of complications, and my recovery was much quicker.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Robotic surgery will become the default for keyhole operations<\/a><\/p>\n

Cancer care is also becoming more precise. Every patient who could benefit will be offered genomic testing to help match them with treatments most likely to work.<\/p>\n

New liquid biopsy blood tests will speed up decisions. I want every patient to receive the best care available, whether they live in Barnsley or Berkshire.<\/p>\n

This plan is also shaped by experience. Half the ministers in my department are cancer patients.<\/p>\n

Ashley Dalton brings the perspective of writing our national strategy while undergoing treatment herself. When Ashley was diagnosed, it was assumed she\u2019d want to give up work. Instead, she is now working with employers to make sure cancer patients can stay in work if they want to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three in four cancer patients will survive the disease thanks to a \u201crevolution\u201d in medicine over the next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-413439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}