Cancer remains a major health and socioeconomic burden as well as a leading cause of death. In the UK, 1 in 2 people will develop cancer, and many of us know someone who has been diagnosed with the disease.

Despite the significance of this, cancer care in England is struggling. Waiting times remain a major concern with one of the targets – the 62-day referral to treatment standard – last achieved in 2015. Workforce shortages in the NHS add to the pressure, and access to diagnostics equipment remains inequitable.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all have their own individual cancer plans or strategies. England does not. With the current huge cancer challenges facing this country, you might wonder how did we get here, and does news of a potential new plan raise our hopes or simply our blood pressure?

Cancer care at the turn of the millennium was a time of transformation. A newly elected government sought to improve survival and reduce disparities through significant investment and reform. This included the publication of a national cancer strategy in 2000, the appointment of the first cancer czar/director, a national action team, the introduction of targets and pathways, and much more. Providing a framework for all this was the NHS cancer plan which itself set out both vision and an evaluation process. 

The arrival of a new government later that year prompted optimism. But while there was a lot of positive noise, nothing appeared definitive until the end of the year when a small announcement was quietly made by the Health and Social Care Secretary to the Health and Social Care Committee informing them of his intention to commit to a national cancer strategy.

This was followed up by a call for evidence on World Cancer Day this year. Despite this, cancer care in England remains in critical condition with many experts expressing that a national cancer plan may not go far enough to address treatment inequalities. The end of NHS England has complicated matters further.