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The grim warning from the biggest cancer charity and others comes as figures relating to treatment delays reveal a deepening crisis, exacerbated by Covid. The NHS England target says at least 85 per cent of patients should wait no more than 62 days to start treatment following an urgent referral from a GP.

But this has not been met for six years, with the number of patients who should have been diagnosed quicker or started treatment sooner now at 63,873.

Meanwhile, more than a million people desperately need tests and treatment.

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) chief executive Michelle Mitchell said: “Right now, we face the real possibility that we could see our hard-won progress in improving cancer survival falter.

“Much debate has centred on the Government’s Plan B, but what we urgently need is a Plan C – a plan for cancer.

“We cannot accept any further delays – cancer won’t wait.”

The CRUK analysis, based on NHS England Monthly Cancer Waiting Times data from 2015 to 2021, shows there were around 1,130,000 patients waiting for key diagnostic tests in England at the end of November 2021.

That’s 32 per cent (around 272,000) more than at the end of November 2019.

Of these patients, more than 959,000 were awaiting a radiology test and around 175,000 an endoscopy – a waiting list jump of around a third.

As 2022 begins, the number of people on the diagnostic radiology waiting list in England is the highest since current records began in 2006.

There were 10 times more patients waiting six weeks or more for key diagnostic tests in England at the end of November 2021 compared to the same period in 2019 (around 257,000 against around 25,000).

Due to “standards repeatedly being missed”, CRUK is particularly worried about those with lung, lower gastrointestinal, urological (excluding testicular) and breast cancers.

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Prof Karol Sikora, Daily Express columnist and former director of the World Health Organisation Cancer Programme, said: “More can be done and hiding behind the pandemic has to stop.

“Cancer survival rates in our country are not good enough and they are only going to worsen.

“Urgent and comprehensive action is required – so no more excuses.”

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Delays cost my mother her life

Headteacher Jayne Gray lost her battle with cancer in October – six days before her 65th birthday.

She was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2005 and treated with surgery and chemotherapy.

She had regular checks and when the disease returned in 2013 it was quickly spotted and treated with more rounds of chemotherapy.

Jayne, head of a high school in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, had been due a check-up in the summer of 2020 at the height of the pandemic but it was cancelled, despite being a private appointment.

Her daughter Amy, 35, of Market Harborough, blames the Covid crisis for delays that ultimately cost her mother’s life.

The PhD student, studying Arctic climate change, said: “In early spring of 2021, Mum was having abdominal pain. She went to the GP and was referred to a specialist. She was sent for a scan and a biopsy and was told the cancer was back and had spread to her liver, kidney, lymph nodes and spine.

“They said it was incurable. She was treated on the NHS with chemotherapy and had one round of immunotherapy – but she passed away in October.

“Mum was a headteacher and continued to work during the pandemic and through her treatment.

“She had just got a role as an Ofsted inspector but never got to start it.

Amy added: “It’s heartbreaking to think this could all have been avoided if she had been diagnosed earlier.

“The Government needs to publish a plan for NHS recovery that tackles the chronic staff shortages.”

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Cancer won’t wait, says MICHELLE MITCHELL

Today’s figures paint a stark picture. People affected by cancer are waiting too long for critical tests and treatment.

New calculations reveal that UK waiting lists for tests often used to diagnose cancer are well over the million mark, while current waits for some cancer services are the worst on record.

It’s clear that Omicron is adding substantial pressure. But even before the pandemic hit, the NHS was chronically overstretched – with years of underinvestment in staff and diagnostic equipment. Cancer services were struggling as a result.

In England, the target to treat 85 per cent of cancer patients within two months of their urgent suspected cancer referral has been missed – for all cancers combined – since 2015, and the situation has continued deteriorating.

Over the past two years, we have seen millions of people waiting longer and longer, compounding feelings of concern and anxiety for the patients. I’m really worried about what future figures on cancer survival will show.

Right now, we face the real possibility that we could see our hard-won progress in improving cancer survival falter.

NHS staff have worked incredibly hard to minimise the impact of Covid, but they remain overburdened and understaffed, and capacity can only stretch so far.

Thanks to this hard work, cancer wait times did show signs of improvement last year, but progress has since stalled or taken a further downturn.

It’s positive that plans have been put in place to help keep cancer services running for patients, such as the recent move by the NHS to pull in more support from private hospitals for urgent cancer surgery – a good short-term solution.

But a much more ambitious plan is needed, or we risk a cancer catastrophe.

The Government must act urgently and share with the British public how it plans to recover cancer services, expand the workforce and invest in more equipment. Promises and plans need to be backed with new money.

Much debate has centred on the Government’s Plan B, but what we urgently need is a Plan C – a plan for cancer. We cannot accept any further delays – cancer won’t wait.

• Michelle Mitchell of Cancer Research UK

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