Campaign reply - Will you help raise the ambition for breast cancer diagnosis?

Thank you for contacting me about breast cancer.

Please be assured that every effort is being made to continue raising awareness of breast cancer and to improve the treatment of all those diagnosed with this disease.

I want to provide reassurance that reducing waiting times for cancer treatment, including for breast cancer, is an urgent priority for the Government. As part of the 2021 Spending Review, £2.3 billion was allocated to improve diagnostic capacity over the next three years. This will be furthered by the Government’s 10-year cancer plan, a new vision outlining how the UK will lead the world in cancer care.

The Government is committed to rolling out at least 100 Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), which will be new one-stop-shops for checks, scans and tests, helping those with suspected breast cancer to access earlier diagnostic tests closer to home.

In addition, NHS England and Improvement is asking local health services to focus on reducing the number of people waiting over 62 days on cancer pathways. 

The Government is committed to ensuring that as many people as possible are diagnosed to breast cancer within 28 days from GP referral. A new Ten Year Cancer Plan is being developed, with a key priority being to drive earlier diagnosis, including through meeting the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) and joint awareness campaigns with patient groups like Breast Cancer Now. I appreciate your wish to see the FDS increased but I can assure you that while the FDS threshold has been set initially at 75 per cent, it is kept under review by NHS England and NHS Improvement. The NHS Breast Screening Programme is also, more broadly, increasing uptake to improve the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.

 

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.