Prof. Pat Price has called for a bold cancer plan to prevent unnecessary deaths, criticizing the normalization of treatment delays.

The government has announced plans to improve cancer care, aiming for an additional 120,000 urgent cancer diagnoses within four weeks and timely treatments.

Research shows that every four-week delay in cancer treatment can increase the risk of death by up to 10%.

An analysis of NHS figures revealed that more than 500,000 people in England have waited over two months for essential cancer treatment.

Coinciding with World Cancer Day on February 4, 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care plans to relaunch the national cancer plan.

However, concerns remain that the new cancer plan may lack effectiveness, especially after NHS England scrapped the target for diagnosing 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2.

The NHS has struggled to meet its target of treating 85% of cancer patients within 62 days since December 2015, with current treatment rates at only 69%.

Experts, including Mark Lawler and Paula Chadwick, have stressed the urgency of addressing these treatment delays to prevent further patient loss.

From November 2022 to November 2024, over one-third of cancer patients experienced waits longer than two months for treatment.

Additionally, 42.3% of lung cancer patients and 42.5% of urological cancer patients missed the 62-day target, while 28.4% of breast cancer patients faced similar delays.

Experts warn that if the NHS does not resolve these delays, thousands more patients could die unnecessarily.

There are significant disparities in treatment times, with nearly half of patients suffering from gynaecological and lower gastrointestinal cancers not receiving timely care.

In contrast, over 80% of skin cancer patients began treatment within two months since February 2024, attributed to the less complex nature of skin cancer.

Officials from Cancer Research UK and Breast Cancer Now have emphasized the critical importance of timely diagnosis and treatment to improve patient outcomes.