Our response to the National Cancer Plan

Today the UK Government is marking World Cancer Day by publishing its National Cancer Plan for England. This landmark plan outlines the Government’s approach to reducing lives lost to cancer, including bowel cancer — the UK’s second most common cause of cancer deaths.

We listened closely to the experiences and priorities of our bowel cancer community and for years have campaigned for a National Cancer Plan that can truly improve survival rates for people affected by the disease. We’ve worked shoulder to shoulder with our community and with other charities through One Cancer Voice because we know that a joined-up plan with sustainable and transformative funding can help shift the dial on early diagnosis and care.

The plan has detailed several key ambitions that the Government want to commit to across the NHS, including:

1. To meet the Cancer Waiting Time standards by the end of this Parliament
2. By 2035, three in four people diagnosed with cancer will be cancer-free, or living well with cancer after five years 
3. To improve the quality of life for people being diagnosed with, treated for or living with cancer

What’s in the National Cancer Plan for people affected by bowel cancer?

• Last week we welcomed the UK Government’s announcement to increase the sensitivity of the bowel screening test, which will help to detect more cancers and save more lives and it’s positive to see the plan seeks to go further.

• The success of the Lynch syndrome transformation programme highlighted in the Plan has dramatically improved testing for people diagnosed with bowel cancer and laid the foundations for earlier diagnosis and prevention. The focus now must be on ensuring relatives are identified, offered genetic testing, and have lifelong regular checks to prevent cancer from developing.

• Around 1 in 4 bowel cancers are diagnosed in emergency settings like A&E, often at a later stage with fewer treatment options. This figure has remained stubbornly unchanged for years. The Government’s focus on emergency diagnosis solely for rarer cancers is disappointing as it overlooks its importance for bowel cancer, where thousands of people are still diagnosed in crisis each year. We now want to work together with the UK Government to understand why it happens and set clear targets to drive progress. Our patient insight report, launched at a parliamentary reception in January, shows just how essential it for us to stop people being diagnosed in an emergency.

• GP referral for further tests is critical for early bowel cancer diagnosis, but some people, for example younger adults, too often make multiple visits to their GP with red-flag symptoms before being referred. New support for GPs to recognise persistent symptoms sooner and refer patients quickly for investigation is much needed, enabling earlier diagnosis of bowel cancer and other serious conditions. This must be implemented consistently and evaluated to ensure it leads to earlier diagnosis.

Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive at Bowel Cancer UK, says: “The UK Government’s National Cancer Plan for England is ambitious, and it needs to be. With almost half of people with bowel cancer being diagnosed at the later stages when it’s much harder to treat, this is an important milestone in turning the tide towards earlier diagnosis.  

“Improvements to screening, Lynch syndrome testing and support for GPs to refer people with symptoms are much needed, but the plan overlooks the importance of reducing emergency diagnosis of bowel cancer. 

“The priority now is strong national and local leadership, clear accountability, support for NHS staff and sustained funding, along with genuine partnership with charities to turn this ambition into action, so more bowel cancers are found early, and fewer people are diagnosed in an emergency.  

“We know workforce capacity is crucial to deliver cancer diagnosis and care, and with endoscopy being a key area where additional workforce is needed, we hope the workforce strategy the Government have committed to publishing will help plug the gaps. 

“We stand ready to work with Government, the NHS and partners to save more lives from the UK’s second biggest cancer killer. We will continue to champion these priorities and drive progress across all the nations of the UK, ensuring bowel cancer improvements reach everyone.”

National Cancer Plans for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 

In response to the publication of the National Cancer Plan for England, the Chair of the Wales Cancer Alliance, Lowri Griffiths, said “As of today, World Cancer Day, Wales is the only UK nation without a long-term plan to drive improvements in cancer care and outcomes. The Wales Cancer Alliance is urgently calling on the next Welsh Government to take a long-term, strategic approach to planning cancer services as short-term plans and initiatives have not provided the scale of improvements patients need.”

In 2023 the Scottish Government announced their National Cancer strategy 2023 to 2033, which sets out their vision for the next 10 years to improve cancer survival and provide excellent, equitably accessible care.

In 2022, the Cancer Strategy for Northern Ireland and its Funding Plan 2022-2032 were launched by the Health Minister Robin Swann, and sets the direction of travel for cancer services for the next 10 years.

• Read our submission to the Department of Health and Social Care’s Call for Evidence to inform this National Cancer Plan for England

• Learn more about our policy and campaigning work

• Become a campaign supporter to help lead the change and improve early diagnosis of bowel cancer