NHS faces ‘silver tsunami’ of older cancer patients

THE NHS must be ready for a ‘silver tsunami’ of older cancer patients or risk becoming overwhelmed, experts warn.

The rising ageing population will see UK cases of the disease surge by a third in the next two decades.

Six in ten of these diagnoses will involve people over the age of 70 – up a fifth on current levels.

Cancer deaths are also expected to rise by a quarter, with three-quarters of them over-70s.

A major meeting of 40,000 cancer experts from around the world heard warnings that health systems are woefully underprepared for the trend, which is mirrored globally. They urged ministers to act now to tackle the shortage of cancer specialists coming down the line or face lives being lost needlessly.

The situation is further complicated by the fact older patients typically have multiple health issues and require more complex care, they said.

Dr Andrew Chapman, a leading geriatric cancer specialist from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, who with colleagues coined the phrase the ‘silver oncologic tsunami’, said without urgent action, older patients were going to get ‘suboptimal care’.

He said treatment of pensioners was often ‘nihilistic’ and told health leaders that ‘ageism is not acceptable’.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, he said: ‘The point behind the silver oncologic tsunami is that as the population expands and the incidence goes way up, are we really prepared to deal with those needs? I think globally, we’re not.

‘Sometimes there’s a nihilism – “if you’re older we’re not going to bother” – which is horrible. Age is not that relevant. The point is how physically fit you are.’

Professor Charles Swanton, of Cancer Research UK, echoed the concerns over Britain’s readiness for dealing with the issue.

Older cancer patients often had comorbidities and other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, heart or respiratory problems, which can affect treatment, he said.

‘The question is, how is the health system going to cope with that?’

The Royal College of Radiologists says there was a 17 per cent shortfall of clinical oncologists in the UK in 2021, meaning the country was short of 189 trained specialists.