Charities warn of cancer crisis
Sufferers facing NHS shortfalls desperate for support
MORE cancer patients are calling charities for help as NHS cuts put them at risk, campaigners warn.
Macmillan Cancer Support is getting more requests for aid and polls show that 68% of recently diagnosed patients cannot properly access the care they need.
One in five patients said medics caring for them seemed to have unmanageable workloads.
And many of those quizzed said problems such as depression, anxiety and pain were not being addressed.
Onyeka Abajingin, a Macmillan support line adviser, said: “We are taking more calls from people who are coming to us because they are concerned about delays to treatment and a lack of information given by the NHS.
“They feel confused, isolated and really don’t know where else to turn.”
A previous audit by Macmillan found up to 15% of cancer nursing roles are unfilled in parts of England.
Experts have warned some patients are not getting the life-saving treatment they need quickly enough. Sarah
Mills, 36, diagnosed with colorectal cancer last year, is waiting for the results of routine scans following a relapse.
She said: “I’ve no idea when I’ll get my results. “My nurse is always insanely overloaded so it’s not her fault. No one else can answer my questions. “I’m still in the danger zone with my cancer. I just want to know when they’ll be able to tell me what they saw when they looked inside me.”
68 per cent of those recently diagnosed with cancer fail to access necessary care