Cancer checks double to help 3 million a year

CHECK-UPS for suspected cancer have topped three million in a year for the first time – after more than doubling in a decade.

NHS England said 3.04 million patients received urgent referrals for the disease in the 12 months to March compared with 1.34 million during the same period 10 years ago.

Some 250,000 checks were carried out in February alone, an increase of more than 10% on the same month last year.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS clinical director for cancer, said: “Despite a challenging year for the NHS, record numbers of people were referred by GPs for vital checks.

“This means more people are coming forward when they have worrying signs and symptoms.

“Cancer caught early gives people a much better chance of successful

‘Cancer caught early gives a much better chance of success’

treatment.This is why we have a huge focus on finding new ways to reach people in their communities, from lung trucks and liver vans to community diagnostic centres.”

The NHS exceeded a target to diagnose or rule out cancer within 28 days of an urgent referral in at least 75% of cases for the first time in February – with 78% of cases closed within the goal time.

However, charities warned many patients were still waiting too long to begin treatment.

More than 4,600 times in February, people with a confirmed cancer diagnosis waited more than a month to have the treatment they needed.

And 2023 was the worst year on record for cancer treatment delays in England, according to recent analysis by Macmillan Cancer Support.

The charity found 30,000-plus people newly diagnosed with the disease had waited more than a month to start treatment, the highest annual figure since records began in 2009.

Minesh Patel, Macmillan’s head of policy, welcomed the rise in checks but said it must be “backed up by an increase in treatment capacity”.

He added: “We expect that around four million people will be living with cancer by 2030. It’s vital the UK Government provides a long-term strategy to ensure everybody with a diagnosis gets the support they need.”

Matt Sample, policy manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s promising that more people are finding out if they have cancer or not faster but it’s clear that our health service is under significant pressure.

“Despite the best efforts of NHS staff, thousands of people in England are still waiting longer than they should to begin treatment. The last time all cancer wait time targets for England were met was 2015.”

The challenges cancer services are facing will keep growing due to the UK’s ageing and growing population.

Health Minister Andrew Stephenson said survival rates were improving across almost all types of cancer thanks to innovations. He added: “We’ve invested record funding into support, including £2.3billion for 160 Community Diagnostic Centres.”