ALMOST 400,000 NHS patients have waited more than two months to start cancer treatment since 2015, according to a report.
Cancer Research UK said long delays cause “stress and anxiety” in people who know they have a tumour.
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NHS figures show that around a third of new patients wait longer than the target 62 days between being referred by a doctor and starting potentially life-saving treatment.
The health service’s target is for 85 percent of patients to be treated faster than this, but it has not been achieved since December 2015.
During this period, CRUK estimates that 382,000 people languished for more than eight weeks.
Chief executive Michelle Mitchell said: “Each of these numbers is a friend, family member and loved one facing an unbearably long wait for treatment to begin, causing stress and anxiety.”
Pressure on clinics increases as cases rise
Hospitals say a lack of staff, money and scanning machines is delaying cancer clinics.
Cases increase every year, with an additional 2.2 million tumor diagnoses expected over the next five years.
Ms Mitchell said: “Almost one in two people will get cancer in their lifetime and it affects every family in every community.
“Any new UK government must make fighting cancer a top priority.”
A separate report from the Royal College of Radiologists warned that delays in cancer treatment are now routine.
Mairaid McMahon, from Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “The data consistently tells the story of too many people waiting too long to start potentially life-saving treatment – it cannot continue.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS is seeing and treating record numbers of people with cancer – more people than ever have been diagnosed at an early stage and cancer survival is at an all-time high.
“It is vital that people speak up if they are worried about cancer symptoms.
“Getting checked early saves lives.”
NHS CANCER TARGETS EXPLAINED
NHS England has three targets for the time it takes to diagnose and treat cancer patients
75 percent of patients should be diagnosed or receive authorization within 28 days of your first urgent referral to an oncology doctor. The clinics are currently meeting this target, processing 77 percent in that period, in March 2024.
96 percent of patients should start treatment within 31 days of your doctor deciding you need treatment. The clinics are currently failing to achieve this target, with 91 percent in March 2024.
85 percent of patients should start treatment within 62 days of the first urgent physician referral or test result. The clinics are failing to achieve this target, with 69 percent in March 2024.
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