Identifying policy solutions

Last week, Cancer52, a coalition of 100 patient groups, published its ambition for people with rare and less common cancers. The charity hopes this will be reflected in the NHS Long Term Plan and new Cancer Strategy. We have been happy to support this work, undertaking evidence gathering activity over the summer which included interviews with key stakeholders, a patient survey and workshops with charity members. This allowed us to help identify potential issues, solutions and calls and these were reflected in Cancer52’s submission to the NHS Long Term Plan consultation and a briefing document for stakeholders.

Cancer52 launched the briefing at its All Stakeholder meeting and they were joined by NHS National Cancer Director, Cally Palmer, who shared some of the highlights to be included in the new Cancer Strategy. Cally highlighted that the Prime Minister’s commitment to cancer is a ‘huge opportunity but also a huge responsibility’, and confirmed that the new 2028 target to increase cancers diagnosed at stage one or two to 75% will be for all cancers.

Cancer52 has stressed that any targets for cancer must be for all cancers so this is welcome news. In addition, Cancer52 is calling for rare and less common cancers to be prioritised at a national and local level through ring fenced funding, dedicated leadership and investment in coordination. Data must also be available for rare and less common cancers to allow benchmarking and measure improvement.

It’s clear from our work with Cancer52’s members and the amazing response to the patient survey (over 650 people responded) that there are real challenges facing people with rare and less common cancers. It is harder to get a diagnosis, access specialist treatment, benefit from the guidance of a Clinical Nurse Specialist and find support services than if you have a more common cancer. In some cases, treatments don’t exist and if people haven’t heard of your type of cancer, it’s easy to feel isolated. More people die from a rare or less common cancer combined than from breast, bowel, lung and prostate cancer combined. We hope Cancer52 continues to make progress in ensuring that the voices of people with rare and less common cancers are heard so that ultimately their outcomes improve.

You can read the Cancer52 briefing here.