Cancers ‘must be diagnosed within 3 weeks’

PATIEnTS showing signs of cancer are to be promised a diagnosis within three weeks.

They will be offered scanning at mobile units in supermarkets and shopping centres.

The proposals form part of a ten-year plan to improve the nHS’s woefully late diagnosis rates for the major killers. The initiative will focus on breast, bowel, prostate and lung cancer.

Doctors will be encouraged to refer patients for immediate tests, avoiding potential delays while patients are referred to a specialist.

The ‘scan first, ask questions later’ approach acknowledges that in most cases, a definitive diagnosis cannot be made until checks have been completed.

Currently most patients with suspected cancer are meant to begin treatment within 62 days, however the disease can spread during this time.

Matt Hancock will today tell the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham that improving cancer care is a key target for the nHS, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Health Secretary is expected to say that every seriously ill child and millions of adults with cancer will have their genes sequenced in a five-year plan to develop more personalised medicine.

The Prime Minister is also expected to identify cancer as a key priority for the £20billion investment the Government has pledged for the nHS.

Mr Hancock is expected to say: ‘I’m incredibly excited about the potential for this type of technology to improve the diagnosis and treatment for patients to help people live longer, healthier lives, a vital part of our long-term plan for the nHS. The commitments form part of our bold aspiration to sequence five million genomes in the UK, using ground-breaking technology to do this within an unprecedented five-year period.

‘The more genetic information there is the earlier clinicians can predict, diagnose and treat the illness in a way that work best for each patient.’