One person diagnosed with cancer every 80 seconds in UK, report reveals | Cancer
The number of people diagnosed with cancer in the UK has reached a record high, with one person being diagnosed every 80 seconds, a report reveals.
Cancer Research UK found that more than 403,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year, largely due to a growing and aging population, with people becoming more likely to get cancer as they get older.
The NHS is struggling to cope with increasing demand for care. Cancer waiting times across the UK are among the worst in history, according to the report.
Cases have risen to 620 per 100,000 people, from 610 a decade ago, partly driven by rising obesity levels. The proportion of cases diagnosed early remained virtually unchanged, rising from 54% to 55%.
Some significant successes have been achieved. Death rates have fallen and the proportion of people surviving a decade or more has increased. But Cancer Research UK said this progress was now at risk of stalling, partly due to pressure on cancer services.
He said the government’s latest national cancer plan for England was a crucial step towards improving care but needed “funding and resources to turn this ambition into impact”.
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of the charity, said: “More people are being diagnosed with cancer than ever before. Although cancer survival rates have doubled since the 1970s, progress has slowed in the last decade.
“The UK government’s recently published national cancer plan for England could only make a big difference if it translates into improvements for cancer patients. The publication of the plan is not a ‘done job’ on cancer: the ambition to detect cancers earlier, meet cancer-waiting targets and improve best practice in treatment must be realized quickly.”
Cancer Research UK wants screening programs such as lung cancer to be widely and effectively promoted and the rollout of innovative cancer tests to be accelerated.
The report stated that in 2025, approximately 107,000 cancer patients across the UK will wait more than 62 days to start treatment.
The charity praised the government’s determination to meet waiting time targets in England, but said the situation was much worse in Northern Ireland and called for further investment in specialist staff and equipment across England.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “In the last 12 months we have carried out a record number of diagnostic tests, supported by an extra £26bn to the NHS – and the number of patients diagnosed with cancer on time or cleared completely is the highest in five years – but we are not complacent.
“Our national cancer plan sets out how patients will be diagnosed faster, receive treatment quicker and be provided with better support to live well with cancer, with the aim of 75% of patients diagnosed being cancer-free or living well five years from 2035. Our historic tobacco and e-cigarette bill, which will soon become law, will also protect future generations from cancer.”
A separate report published on Wednesday found more than 13,000 patients waited more than three days in England’s emergency departments last year.
In total, 493,751 patients spent more than 24 hours in A&E before being admitted to a hospital bed, transferred or discharged last year. According to the British Medical Journal. Of these, 13,386 waited at least three days.
Mumtaz Patel, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “I have heard of patients saying they would rather die at home than come to hospital and wait.”
