10-year plan to make Britain’s cancer care the best in Europe

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He will declare he is determined to make the UK’s cancer care the best in Europe over the next decade. And he will call on patients, their loved ones and NHS staff to help. In a speech to mark World Cancer Day, Mr Javid is expected to say: “Let this be the day where we declare a national war on cancer. “We have published the call for evidence for a new 10-Year Cancer Plan for England – a searching vision for how we will lead the world in cancer care. This Plan will show how we are learning the lessons from the pandemic and apply them to improving cancer services over the next decade.”

Britain has made progress in boosting the chances of surviving cancer. In recent years, overall one-year survival rates have risen by more than 10 percent to 72 percent.

But they vary widely depending on the type of cancer a patient has.

One-year survival is highest for people with melanoma, at 97.6 percent for men and 98.8 percent for women. It is lowest for those with pancreatic cancers, at 26.4 and 27.4 percent, respectively.

The pandemic also threatens hard-won gains. Cancer diagnoses were down by almost 50,000 between March 2020 and November last year.

Mr Javid will place a renewed focus on the search for innovative treatments and technology to help catch the disease in the early stages, including learning from the success of Covid vaccines to intensify research into therapeutics for cancer.

The Government will also step up efforts to boost the cancer workforce, tackle inequalities and improve prevention and awareness campaigns.

And there will be an eight-week call for evidence, when cancer patients, relatives and NHS staff will be asked to help inform the plan, due to be unveiled in the summer.

Mr Javid will tell the Francis Crick Institute in London: “We want to hear views from far and wide to help us shape this work. Please join us in this effort, so fewer people face the heartache of losing a loved one to this wretched disease.”

Minister for Primary Care Maria Caulfield, said: “We want to have the best cancer care in Europe and this call to evidence will help us develop a plan to achieve this. We want to hear from cancer patients, relatives and NHS staff to see how we can best move forward.”

Macmillan Cancer Support chief Lynda Thomas said: “This is a vital opportunity for the millions of people living with cancer. We look forward to working closely with the Secretary of State to ensure their voices are at the forefront of these plans.”

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