THREE quarters of cancer patients will beat the disease under plans to boost NHS care, Wes Streeting has pledged.
He aims to have 75 per cent of those diagnosed from 2035 onwards either cured or “living well” with the condition within five years.
The vow in the Health Secretary’s national cancer plan for England, being unveiled today, will save hundreds of thousands of lives if achieved.
Currently about 60 per cent survive for five years or more. Rates in the UK lag behind those of European neighbours.
Macmillan Cancer Support says a new cancer is diagnosed every 75 seconds in the UK, equal to 1,200 people per day — with more than 140,000 deaths each year.
Mr Streeting said of his objectives: “Our cancer plan will invest in and modernise the NHS to slash waits, invest in cutting-edge technology, and give every patient the best possible chance of beating cancer.”
The plan will pressure the NHS to hit all of its current standards by 2029.
The majority of patients should be diagnosed within a month and treated within two.
Extra cash, scanners and tech will allow an extra 9.5million tests per year at community centres, while surgical robots will be used for 500,000 operations per year, up from 70,000.
Eligible patients will have DNA tests to get treatment for their exact tumour type, while screening for bowel and lung cancers will be made more sensitive to detect more cases early.
All families who have a child with cancer will get government cash to pay for travel to and from hospital appointments.
Macmillan said: “It’s encouraging to see such bold ambitions.”
