The New National Cancer Plan England: Why Faster Diagnosis Is Only Part of the Story

Yesterday, new details were announced about the government’s National Cancer Plan for England, with bold promises around faster diagnosis, quicker treatment, and improved long-term survival rates.

As someone who has survived cancer twice, I was invited to speak briefly on BBC Radio Nottingham about what this could mean for patients, not just on paper, but in real life. It's huge subject and one that I could have talked about much longer, so I decided to write a little more in this blog.

On the surface, the headlines are of course hopeful. The plan commits to ensuring that three in four cancer patients will be cancer-free or living well five years after diagnosis by 2035. That’s a significant ambition, and one that could save hundreds of thousands of lives.

But as anyone who has lived through cancer will tell you, survival statistics are only part of the story.

Faster Diagnosis Saves More Than Lives

One of the most important elements of the National Cancer Plan is its focus on faster cancer diagnosis. The NHS has not met its central cancer waiting time targets for years, and for patients, that delay can be devastating.

Waiting for scans. Waiting for results. Waiting to start treatment.

There always seems to be a 3 week waiting period, and it is, to be honest, the most traumatic part of the entire experience. Your life is on pause. Your mind fills the gaps with worst-case scenarios, and can go to some very dark places. Even a few extra weeks can feel unbearable as you wait to hear wether your mass is Cancer, your treatment options, whether it's spread to your lymph nodes - and in turn trying to spread through your body..

Earlier diagnosis doesn’t just improve outcomes, it reduces psychological harm. It gives people clarity. It gives them a plan. And crucially, it gives them back a sense of control at a time when everything feels uncertain.

Survival Doesn’t Mean “Back to Normal”

The plan talks about people being “cancer-free or living well” after five years. That wording matters.

Because cancer doesn’t end when treatment ends.

Many survivors live with long-term side effects, ongoing pain, fatigue, or the constant fear that every new ache or twinge could mean something is wrong again. I know that feeling personally. Even years later, a new symptom can send your mind straight back to the worst moments.

That’s why it’s encouraging to see the plan acknowledge the importance of living well with and beyond cancer, not just surviving it. Support after treatment, emotional, practical, and psychological, is just as important as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy.

Technology Is Promising - But Access Matters

The National Cancer Plan includes major investment in:

• Faster diagnostics and community diagnostic centres

• Robot-assisted surgery

• Genomic testing to personalise treatment

• AI pilots to detect cancers earlier

• Better access to clinical trials

• 
  

All of this is genuinely exciting. Medical science is advancing at an incredible pace.

But patients will judge success by one thing: whether it actually changes their experience. I was once asked in a job interview what I would do if I won the lottery. My answer? If I had millions my aim would be a one stop cancer service - a bit like a car MOT. Scan - results same day - treatment plan. Don't get me wrong, it would be a hellish day, but it would be DONE.

Technology, as it is, obviously only works if it’s accessible. If it shortens waits everywhere - not just in certain postcodes. If people with rarer cancers are seen by specialists quickly. And if no one is left behind because of where they live or how stretched their local services are.

Inequality Still Needs Addressing

It’s uncomfortable, but important to say: England still lags behind other comparable countries on cancer survival for some cancer types. Where you live can still influence how quickly you’re diagnosed and treated.

The plan recognises this, and that’s welcome. If it truly delivers consistent care across the country, including for rare and less common cancers, it could be transformative.

But ambition must be matched with delivery.

Why The New National Plan England Gives Cautious Hope

As a cancer survivor, I feel cautiously optimistic.

There is real hope in the new national cancerplan England, hope grounded in investment, innovation, and acknowledgement of the realities patients face. But success won’t be measured by press releases or targets alone. It will be measured by how it feels to go through the system.

If people start getting answers faster, treatment sooner, and support after treatment ends, then this plan will truly be working.

And that’s something worth striving for.

Love Tx