• Patients will receive faster diagnosis, quicker treatment, and the support to live well with cancer under the government’s landmark National Cancer Plan, unveiled today
• Plan comes as rates of early diagnosis reached a record high in the Midlands
• Number of people in the Midlands either diagnosed or had cancer ruled out rises by 34,000 in year

Patients will receive faster diagnosis, quicker treatment, and the support to live well with cancer under the government’s landmark National Cancer Plan, unveiled today.

For the first time, the NHS will commit to ensuring three in four people diagnosed with cancer from 2035 onwards are cancer-free or living well after five years.

This represents the fastest rate of improvement in cancer outcomes this century and will translate to 320,000 more lives saved over the lifetime of the plan.

Midlands early diagnosis rates at record high

In the year to March 2025 (the most recently available data), over 34,000 more people in the Midlands received a diagnosis on time and 6,400 more people started treatment on time than the previous year.

But the NHS has not met its central cancer performance target - that 85% of patients start treatment within 62 days of referral - since 2014. Under this plan, that will change – by March 2029, the NHS will meet all three cancer waiting time standards, meaning hundreds of thousands more patients will receive timely treatment.

The plan aims to deliver three 3 key ambitions: meeting waiting times standards by the end of this parliament; improving survival by 2035; and improving quality of life for patients who’ve had cancer.

A key theme throughout the strategy is improving inequalities across England, and the plan sets out measures to improve prevention in some of the country’s highest levels of inequality, which have higher cancer risk factors.

Tackling poor survival rates

In the East Midlands local GP practices have launched the Pancreatic Cancer Primary Care Case-Finding Pilot which uses data insight to improve survival amongst people living with one of the less common cancers. The pilot aims to tackle late diagnosis rates and improve outcomes in the region. With only 19 per cent of pancreatic cancers diagnosed through primary care and a large proportion diagnosed via emergency presentation, this pilot works by supporting networks of GP practices to refer patients for urgent screening using patient records to identify risk factors such as family history, obesity and smoking.

The goal is to improve early diagnosis at stages 1 and 2, when more treatments are possible, ultimately improving survival outcomes.

Efforts to address barriers to screening and improve survival rates have helped deliver higher rates of early diagnosis in the region. In the year to March 2025 (the most recently available data), over 34,000 more people in the Midlands received a diagnosis on time and 6,400 more people started treatment on time than the previous year.

Dr Jess Sokolov, Regional Medical Director of NHS England in the Midlands, said: “The plan announced today will quickly translate into action for patients across the Midlands, where we are already seeing record rates of early diagnosis while working to improve prevention by tackling the key cancer risk factors in our communities.

“Patients can access diagnostic tests and scans at a range of community diagnostic centres in the region, offering more convenient access for people referred for potential cancer symptoms. While some of the best examples of innovation we’ve seen across the Midlands are built into the plan, along with bold ambitions to improve survival rates as well as quality of life for local cancer patients.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

The plan sets out sweeping reforms to how cancer is diagnosed and treated:

• Faster diagnostics: A £2.3 billion investment will deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029. Where possible, Community Diagnostic Centres will operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week, bringing testing closer to where people live.
• Robot-assisted surgery: From hip replacements to heart surgery and cancer operations, the number of robot-assisted procedures will increase from 70,000 to half a million by 2035, reducing complications and freeing up hospital beds.
• Treatment at specialist centres: More patients with rarer cancers will have their care reviewed and treated at specialist cancer centres, where they can benefit from the expertise of the best cancer doctors. These centres bring together surgeons, oncologists, specialist nurses and radiologists to agree the best treatment plan for each case.
• Genomic testing: Every patient who could benefit will be offered a test that analyses the DNA of their cancer. This helps doctors understand exactly the type of cancer someone has and choose treatments most likely to work for them.
• Waiting lists: Some patients will find it easier to get tests for cancer through a new scheme that gives them access to the earliest appointment at any hospital in their region.

It also commits to expanding use of new liquid biopsy blood tests to speed up treatment decisions and digital prehabilitation to help patients prepare for treatment from home.

This is on top of a series of measures already announced as part of the National Cancer Plan, including; £10 million a year to support children’s travel costs for cancer care, measures to improve access to specialists in rural and coastal communities, a crackdown on illegal underage sunbed use and improved bowel cancer screening to catch thousands more cases earlier.

The government has also announced a new AI pilot to help detect hard-to-reach lung cancers sooner with fewer invasive tests as well as a new employer partnership to support England’s 830,000 working-age cancer patients to remain in employment during and after treatment.

The cancer plan comes as the government continues to make strides on cancer waiting lists, diagnosing or ruling out cancer on time for 213,000 extra cases since July last year.

One hundred and seventy community diagnostic centres are now open – with over 100 of them available at evenings and weekends – bringing checks, scans and tests closer to where people live and at times that work around them.

ENDS

Editor’s note:

The cancer waiting times standards are as follows:

• Faster Diagnosis Standard: a diagnosis or ruling out of cancer within 28 days of referral (set at 75%)
• 31-day treatment standard: commence treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat for all cancer patients (set at 96%)

62-day treatment standard: commence treatment within 62 days of being referred or consultant upgrade (set at 85%)