Proposal to scrap England’s long term plan for cancer

On the 24 January 2023, England’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that cancer would no longer have a long term national cancer plan, but would be rolled into a chronic disease strategy that would include cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, dementia, mental health conditions, and musculoskeletal disorders, thus jettisoning decades of global concensus that, to deliver affordable, equitable, and high quality cancer care, dedicated cancer plans are required.1 And this is despite independent findings from the National Audit Office showing that fewer than half of NHS trusts expect to meet key end-of-year elective recovery and cancer targets, with 2025 targets for diagnostic capacity, funding, and productivity in serious doubt.2

Cancer is the single largest cause of death in the UK and one of the most serious healthcare burdens for societies.3 Delivering effective and equitable care requires the coordination of an extensive array of interlocking cancer specific pathways. Each has their own uniquely skilled workforce and specialist diagnostic and treatment modalities that work in a myriad of different organisations and structures covering …