What is World Cancer Day?

World Cancer Day has been held every 4 February since 2000. It’s an initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) which aims to raise awareness of the global impact of cancer and accelerate action towards its vision of making cancer care and treatment equitable for all. Sadly, many of us have and will be affected by cancer in our lifetime. World Cancer Day is a positive movement for everyone to unite together against this common enemy.

Thankfully, there have been phenomenal advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. In the UK, cancer survival has doubled over the last 40 years, meaning that 50 per cent of those diagnosed in England and Wales now survive for 10 or more years. To name but a few recent developments, last year alone, a breakthrough drug for lung cancer was approved, the HPV vaccine was found to cut cases of cervical cancer by almost 90 per cent, and a new drug trial showed “practice-changing” results in slowing breast cancer growth in HER-2 patients.

Despite such progress being made, many across the world still face barriers when it comes to seeking cancer treatment. The theme for this year’s World Cancer Day is “Close the Care Gap”, raising awareness of how the equity gap in cancer care is costing lives. You can watch their video here.

Impact of Covid-19 on cancer care

World Cancer Day is probably more important than it’s ever been, given the huge pressure placed on cancer services throughout the pandemic and the resulting effects of this. As my colleague Suleikha highlighted in her recent blog, the National Audit Office estimates that there were up to 740,000 “missing” urgent GP referrals in England for suspected cancer during the pandemic, suggesting that if 50 per cent of these referrals return to the NHS, the elective care waiting list could reach 12 million by March 2025.

This pressure is evident throughout the cancer care pathway. The NHS target for cancer referrals specifies that 93 per cent of patients with suspected cancer should be seen by a specialist within two weeks of a GP referral, however, the BMA recently found that this target had not been met since May 2020, highlighting the clear strain on capacity.

Targets are also being missed from the point of GP referral to treatment. This should usually happen with 62 days, however the National Audit Office report published in December last year found that 56 per cent of patients were waiting longer than this for treatment for lower gastrointestinal cancers, in addition to 41 per cent of patients for lung cancer and 35 per cent for urological cancer.

The “Care Gap” in England

This decline in cancer care standards has not been equal throughout England. Performance variations between trusts are evident across the country, meaning that some patients face the added challenge of a “postcode lottery” when it comes to their cancer care.  For example, the National Audit Office report found that patients in Birmingham and Solihull were more than twice as likely as patients in Surrey Heartlands to wait longer than 62 days for treatment. These variations might reflect differing levels of deprivation, the performance of the trust prior to the pandemic and the impact of the pandemic itself, however the result is the same; inequality in cancer care.

Whilst the pandemic has placed undeniable pressure on cancer services, we need to close the “Care Gap” as we emerge from this difficult time, to ensure that the great progress made with regards to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately survival, is not lost.

How can JMW help?

The clinical negligence team at JMW have too often witnessed the devastating effects of cancer following delayed diagnosis and treatment on clients and their families. If you think you may have a potential claim and would like to have a chat with a member of our team, please get in touch and we would be happy to assist.