News
New technology, earlier diagnosis and better coordination of care in cancer
The NHS is on-track to transform cancer services in England by 2020/21 according to a report published today by NHS England’s National Cancer Programme. The report details the investment the NHS is making in cancer transformation, including £130m over the period 2016/18 in new and upgraded radiotherapy equipment and £200m over the next two years […]
Home-testing kits that detect bowel cancer could almost halve invasive examinations by 2020
A major NHS England funded study is expected to almost halve the number of invasive procedures by 2020 by improving the accuracy of home-testing kits that detect bowel cancer from invisible amounts of blood. This could mean more than 100,000 NHS patients in England avoid the need for uncomfortable colonoscopies each year by first getting […]
New quality of life measure for recovering cancer patients
In a world leading move, quality of life for cancer patients will be tracked as part of ambitious plans by NHS England to radically improve care and support for people once treatment ends. The ground-breaking new approach is set to drive improvements in after care which includes personalised plans for people with cancer outlining not […]
National survey shows cancer patients feel increasingly positive about their NHS care
An annual national survey published today shows key patient experiences of NHS cancer care improved over the past year. The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2016 asked people with cancer across England for their views on their care, with 72,788 responding. Asked to rate their care on a scale of zero (very poor) to 10 […]
State of the art cancer-treating cyclotron arrives at UK’s first high energy proton beam centre at The Christie
A state of the art proton beam therapy machine, the ‘cyclotron’, will be installed at the specialist cancer hospital The Christie in Manchester today, marking a major milestone in a national NHS plan to provide high energy proton beam therapy in the UK from next year. Proton beam therapy has been offered overseas to NHS […]
NHS England strikes deal to make innovative breast cancer drug routinely available on the NHS
NHS chief Simon Stevens has today announced that NHS England has struck a deal with Roche, also endorsed by NICE, to make the breast cancer drug Kadcyla available for routine use on the NHS. Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference in Liverpool, Simon Stevens said: “NHS cancer survival rates are now at record highs, and this […]
Next steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View: NHS action to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer means 5,000 more lives to be saved within two years
Within two years, over 5,000 more people a year will survive cancer, meaning the NHS is on track to meet the ambitions of the cancer taskforce thanks to better prevention, earlier diagnosis and innovative new treatments for cancer. Cancer survival rates are at a record high, with an estimated 7,000+ more people surviving cancer after […]
Simon Stevens sets out ambitious action to improve survival and quality of life for people with cancer
2,400 more cancer survivors over past year thanks to improved NHS cancer care. NHS England’s chief executive Simon Stevens will today (Tuesday) announce the first wave of hospitals to benefit from a major national investment in NHS radiotherapy machines alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services. Speaking at the Britain […]
NHS England launches biggest upgrade to NHS cancer treatment in 15 years
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has today (Tuesday) announced a £130m investment to kickstart the upgrade of radiotherapy equipment and transform cancer treatment across England. Around 4 in 10 of all NHS cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy, which typically uses high-energy radiation from a machine called a linear accelerator (‘Linac’). Radiotherapy is one […]
New cancer ratings published
NHS England has today published new ratings providing a snapshot of how well different areas of the country are diagnosing and treating cancer and supporting patients. Based on data published over the course of the last two years, the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework provides an initial baseline rating for six clinical priority areas, including […]