The government has unveiled a transformative National Cancer Plan, pledging to fundamentally reshape support for every cancer patient across the country. This ambitious strategy includes a landmark commitment: for the first time, the NHS aims to ensure that 75% of people diagnosed with cancer from 2035 onwards will be either cancer-free or 'living a good life' five years later. This target represents the fastest rate of improvement in cancer outcomes this century and is projected to save an additional 320,000 lives over the plan's lifetime.
A Personalised Approach to Cancer Care
At the heart of this new national initiative is a decisive move away from a one-size-fits-all model towards individualised care. Every patient will receive a comprehensive Personalised Cancer Plan (PCP), marking a significant first for the NHS. This plan extends far beyond standard medical treatment to address the full spectrum of a cancer diagnosis's impact on a person's life.
Support will be meticulously tailored, covering areas such as managing anxiety and fatigue, offering nutritional guidance, and providing advice on returning to work. To combat the 'cliff edge' feeling many experience post-treatment, patients will be given a detailed end-of-treatment summary. This document will outline crucial information, including warning signs to watch for, specific contacts for concerns, and directions to essential ongoing support services like physiotherapy, counselling, and local cancer support groups.
Addressing the Psychological Toll
Recognising the profound and often lasting psychological effects of cancer—including anxiety, depression, and trauma—the Personalised Cancer Plan is designed to integrate necessary mental health support. This ensures patients can rebuild their lives following physical recovery. With over 420,000 people diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK—equating to a diagnosis every 90 seconds—this holistic approach is critically needed.
The new, patient-centric model begins rolling out this year, ensuring care is designed around the individual's life rather than requiring them to navigate a rigid system. The government asserts this will not only improve overall well-being but is also expected to facilitate a quicker return to work and family life.
Digital Revolution and Structural Changes
Digital access to care is being revolutionised through an enhanced NHS App. This platform will become a comprehensive digital portal, connecting patients to specialist cancer charities for immediate support upon diagnosis. Help with financial advice and emotional support will be available 'at a tap'. The app will also enable patients to book screening appointments, access prehabilitation programmes, view their medical records, check their PCP, and provide care feedback from home.
Looking to the future, a major structural change is planned by 2035, where every cancer patient will be assigned a named neighbourhood care lead. This individual will be responsible for coordinating a patient's post-treatment care, ensuring continuity and ending the frustration of being passed between different services.
Improving Timeliness and Survival
The National Cancer Plan directly addresses current performance challenges. The NHS has not met its central target—that 85% of patients start treatment within 62 days of referral—since 2014, and survival rates for some cancers lag behind countries like Romania and Poland. Under this new plan, by March 2029, the NHS commits to meeting all three cancer waiting time standards, ensuring hundreds of thousands more patients receive timely treatment.
New standards to be introduced by 2028 will focus on helping patients become fit for treatment and recover quickly through prehabilitation, rehabilitation, and physical activity programmes. Currently, around 60% of patients survive for five years or more, with approximately 2.4 million people living after a cancer diagnosis.
Government and NHS Leadership Statements
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting emphasised the plan's human impact: "If you’ve ever sat in a waiting room dreading what comes next or laid awake at 3am wondering how you’ll pay the bills while you’re off work for treatment, you’ll know that cancer doesn’t just attack your body - it takes over your whole life. For too long, we’ve treated the tumour and left patients to figure out the rest on their own. That ends now."
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, added: "This plan sets a clear roadmap for the NHS to diagnose more cancers earlier, ensure more patients are treated on time and improve survival, so that hundreds of thousands more people live longer, healthier lives with or after cancer over the next decade."
Additional Measures and Reported Progress
The plan incorporates several previously announced measures, including:
- £10 million annually to support children’s travel costs for cancer care.
- Improved access to specialists in rural and coastal communities.
- A crackdown on illegal underage sunbed use and improved bowel cancer screening.
- A new AI pilot to detect hard-to-find lung cancers sooner with fewer invasive tests.
- An employer partnership to support England’s 830,000 working-age cancer patients in remaining employed during and after treatment.
The government also reports progress in tackling waiting lists, with 213,000 extra cancer cases diagnosed or ruled out on time since July 2024. This is supported by 170 community diagnostic centres now operational, over 100 of which offer checks, scans, and tests during evenings and weekends to improve public accessibility.
