Home-testing kits that can help detect early-stage bowel cancer will be rolled out to 58-year-olds in England for the first time, as part of a major expansion of the lifesaving screening programme. People aged 58 years will be automatically sent a Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) once eligible, which can detect early signs of bowel cancer […]

Record numbers of people have come forward for bowel cancer checks thanks to lifesaving awareness raising by Dame Deborah James, the NHS said today. Between the months of May and July, referrals for suspected lower gastro-intestinal cancers reached record levels, with over 170,500 people referred for checks during that period – up over 30,000 compared […]

The NHS is encouraging people with symptoms such as a long-standing persistent cough, to visit their GP for potentially lifesaving checks in its latest campaign to catch lung cancer earlier when it is easier to treat. The launch of the latest Help Us Help You campaign, on World Lung Cancer Day, comes after figures suggest that […]

Over 140,000 people have flocked to take part in the world’s largest trial of a blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer, as part of the latest NHS drive to catch the disease when it is generally easiest to treat. NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard announced the latest milestone in NHS […]

The first new mesothelioma treatment to be approved in nearly 15 years will be made available for hundreds of patients with aggressive respiratory cancer, the NHS announced today. The life extending treatment, which has been approved for use today by NICE after the NHS struck a new commercial deal for the medicines, will combine nivolumab […]

Thousands of people a year with advanced breast cancer will benefit from a life-extending drug that has been fast-tracked onto the frontline of NHS patient care. The drug, alpelisib, will be used in combination with the hormone therapy, fulvestrant, to target the gene that causes fast-growing tumours. Up to 3,000 people a year with a […]

NHS cancer patients will be the first in the world to benefit from chemotherapy delivered by drone as part of a new trial, NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard announced today. The drones, set to make their first flight in the coming weeks, will mean that the lifesaving treatment can be picked up and dropped to […]

Thousands more people checked bowel cancer symptoms online this week thanks to Dame Deborah James, NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard revealed today. Latest figures show there was a tenfold increase- from 2,000 to 23,274 -in visits to the NHS webpages for bowel cancer, on Wednesday this week compared to the day before. NHS chief executive […]

Staff in high street pharmacies will be funded to spot signs of cancer as part of a new drive to catch tumours early when they are easier to treat, NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard announced today. Customers will then be sent for scans and other checks under the initiative, which is being trialled by pharmacies […]

NHS ‘one stop shops’ have delivered over one million checks and tests since the rollout began, as the biggest catch up programme in health history gathers pace. Over 90 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are already freeing up hospital capacity by offering MRI, CT and other services closer to patients’ homes, often in the heart of […]