The UK is lagging decades behind other countries when it comes to cancer survival rates, a charity has warned.
The analysis from Macmillan Cancer Support has concluded several UK cancer survival rates are only just reaching levels that other European countries, such as Sweden and Norway, had achieved by the early 2000s.
On top of this, cancer waiting times across the UK were among the worst on record last year and people with cancer are facing significant challenges across all areas of their life, including their physical and mental health, their finances and more.
The research has calculated that the latest five-year survival rates for men with colon cancer in England and women with colon cancer in Wales are still below what Sweden had already achieved by the early 2000s.
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It is a similar picture for prostate cancer in Scotland as well as one-year survival for male colon cancer in Northern Ireland. In some cases, the gap is even larger, with survival for women with cervical cancer in England lagging 25 years behind Norway, said Macmillan Cancer Support.
Moreover, it is not just survival rates that need addressing as a matter of urgency but the fact that cancer care throughout the whole system is at “breaking point”, it has warned.
Healthcare professionals are doing the very best they can, but they are under-resourced and waiting times for cancer treatment across the UK were among the worst on record in 2023.
There are also huge differences in people’s experiences of cancer care — this includes research showing that people from ethnically diverse backgrounds in the UK have to wait longer to be diagnosed for several types of cancer.
On top of this, further Macmillan data has shown that hundreds of thousands of people with cancer are struggling with physical and emotional concerns as a result of their diagnosis.
Many are facing serious financial issues, with the charity warning that the cost-of-living crisis is now having a higher impact on people with cancer’s physical health than it has done since June 2022.
For this to change the charity is urgently calling for a radical, new cross-government approach to cancer care, with a fully funded strategy to address the impact cancer has on every aspect of a person’s life.
Macmillan Cancer Support chief executive Gemma Peters said: “Helping people with cancer live longer is important but so is the quality of their lives. They shouldn’t have to spend their days worrying about delays to their treatment or how they’ll be able to afford the petrol or bus fare they need to get to their next appointment; cancer is enough to have to deal with.
“It’s clear that cancer care is at breaking point but this is a political choice and better is possible. Together, with politicians and partners, we can transform cancer care for a more hopeful future for people with cancer and the people who support them.
“We urgently need the next UK government to prioritise a long-term cross-government strategy that revolutionises cancer care and ensures everyone with cancer has access to the care they need, every step of the way,” Peters added.
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