The Cancers With The Longest Treatment Waits – A Deepening NHS Crisis

A recent BBC article entitled: “The cancers with longest treatment waits revealed” discusses the variation across England of waiting times for treatment of different types of cancer.

The differences in waiting times have been assessed by Cancer Research UK and reported by the BBC. The article reveals alarming data, indicating that thousands of cancer patients are enduring far longer waits for treatment than is recommended, with some types of cancer particularly affected.

The NHS cancer waiting time targets

To ensure swift treatment, the NHS has set several key targets for cancer care. Two of the most critical are:

The target for the 62-day wait is that the NHS aims to arrange treatment for patients within 62 days 85% of the time.

While these targets are designed to prevent harmful delays, reports indicate that the NHS is struggling to meet them consistently. The 62-day target has not been met since:

And in England alone, more than 300,000 cancer patients will miss the target over the next five years unless performance improves, according to Cancer Research UK modelling, which predicts an above 20% rise in referrals.

Only haematological and skin cancers have met the target of 85% of patients receiving treatment within the 62 days. All other cancers fall below the target with most being well below. The least likely cancers to achieve the target are head and neck, lower gastrointestinal (inc bowel cancer), gynaecological, and lung cancers.

The consequences of these missed targets are significant and multi-faceted. Several factors contribute to why certain cancers experience more delays than others. For some, the diagnosis requires more extensive testing and diagnostic procedures. For example, gastrointestinal cancer tests often include colonoscopies, biopsies, and scans, which are resource-intensive and invasive procedures and themselves usually subject to delays.

The NHS has limited resources for treating certain types of cancer, particularly when it comes to specialist surgeries or radiotherapy for cancers like lung or gastrointestinal cancers. Awareness campaigns help increase resources, for example, the awareness raised following the death of “Bowelbabe” Dame Deborah James. Investments in screening such as in breast cancer screening can also improve outcomes. However such measures are not universal and so other types of cancer have lagged behind.

There are also shortages of specialist staff with the NHS grappling with a critical shortage of oncologists, radiologists, and specialist nurses. These workforce issues have become more pronounced post-COVID, and they disproportionately impact the types of cancers that require highly specialised treatment, such as urological and gastrointestinal cancers.

The human cost of delayed treatment

The consequences of these delays are devastating for patients. Cancer is a time-sensitive disease—the sooner it is caught and treated, the better the chances of survival. For aggressive cancers like lung cancer, delays can lead to rapid progression, making the disease harder to treat effectively. The longer patients wait, the more advanced their cancer may become, reducing their treatment options and decreasing their chances of survival.

The BBC article includes personal stories that highlight the emotional and psychological toll of waiting for treatment. Patients describe the stress, anxiety, and helplessness of waiting while their disease may be progressing. For many, these waits are not just inconvenient but life-threatening.

This report comes only a week after the health service’s performance was heavily criticised in a government report by NHS surgeon and independent peer Lord Darzi.

A Department of Health and Social Care official said:

The official said that the department would set out a 10-year plan to radically reform “our broken NHS” and “we will fight cancer on all fronts – through prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research – to give people the care they need.”

It remains to be seen whether the concerns highlighted will be acted upon.