The challenge of cancer enge of cancer
1. More than one in three people in England will develop cancer at some stage in their lives. One in four will die of cancer.
This means that, every year, over 200,000 people are diagnosed with cancer, and around 120,000 people die from cancer. So better prevention of cancer, better detection of cancer, and better treatment and care, matter to us all.
2. The Cancer Plan sets out the first comprehensive national cancer programme for England. It has four aims:
- to save more lives
- to ensure people with cancer get the right professional support and care as well as the best treatments
- to tackle the inequalities in health that mean unskilled workers are twice as likely to die from cancer as professionals
- to build for the future through investment in the cancer workforce, through strong research and through preparation for the genetics revolution, so that the NHS never falls behind in cancer care again.
For the first time this plan provides a comprehensive strategy for bringing together prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and care for cancer and the investment needed to deliver these services in terms of improved staffing, equipment, drugs, treatments and information systems.
