Cornwall cancer patients face ‘hundreds of miles’ for treatment as specialist service shuts
People living in Cornwall who have a rare cancer called sarcoma may be forced to travel hundreds of miles to receive specialist care and treatment from the NHS.
This is what may happen if, as feared, part of the Peninsula Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service that is based at the Royal Cornwall Treliske Hospital in Truro stops taking new sarcoma cancer patients at the end of October because it may close by the end of January 2026.
The service’s other sites at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, and the Teenage Young Adult service in Bristol, will not have any additional capacity to take new sarcoma patients from Cornwall. About 5,300 people are diagnosed with soft tissue or bone sarcoma every year in the UK and, of these, between 30-40 new sarcoma cancer cases are dealt with by the Royal Cornwall Treliske Hospital every year, and about 125 by the Peninsula Service as a whole.
For more common cancers, people are diagnosed and treated by their general local hospital. However, sarcoma cancers are much more difficult to diagnose and treat. That’s why NHS England nationally commissions just 15 specialist sarcoma centres across England on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. And it’s the reason why everyone suspected to have a sarcoma cancer must be referred to one of these specialist centres, so that they can make sure people are given the right diagnosis and treatment.
The Peninsula Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service is one of these 15 centres, which is run by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Sarcoma UK, the bone and soft tissue cancer charity, says that if sarcoma cancer care is stopped at Truro – but without a plan for how Cornwall patients will be looked after by the Peninsula Service’s other sites – it means they may have to travel long distances outside their region to receive the care they need. Last week, Sarcoma UK met St Ives MP Andrew George, a member of the House of Commons Health and Social Committee.
Mr George said: “This is completely unacceptable. Unless Ministers step in to stop this, they’ll be condoning the treatment of Cornish patients as second-class citizens. People with sarcoma already face unimaginable distress, without having to also worry whether they can routinely travel hundreds of miles for essential life-saving treatment. I’ve asked Health Ministers to step in. It’s wrong to plan to close an essential service without first considering and consulting on the consequences. Patients from my constituency (west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) could face the option of either a 230+ mile round trip to receive treatment or to go without. The Government promised a shift of health services ‘close to home’. This is the opposite.”
Sarcoma UK has written to health service chiefs demanding to know what plans will be put in place to ensure patients receive the specialised care and treatment they need and has raised the issue with other MPs in the region.
Stephen Downes, 50, from Newquay, was diagnosed with myxofibrosarcoma in 2022, which is a type of soft tissue sarcoma cancer that affects the body’s fibrous connective tissues.
He said: “As someone diagnosed with a myxofibrosarcoma while living in Cornwall, which resulted in the extended full fore quarter amputation of my left arm, I’ve experienced first-hand how vital a fast diagnosis and treatment plan are. Removing localised care, as is being proposed, would be a devastating blow for those diagnosed with sarcoma. Travelling hundreds of miles for scans, surgery, treatments or consultations isn’t just exhausting – it’s financially and emotionally draining. Patients are facing long journeys and higher costs at a time when they’re already vulnerable, and families shoulder much of that burden. Sarcoma doesn’t wait, and neither should our access to timely, equitable care.”
Chief Executive of Sarcoma UK, Richard Davidson, said: “To date, we understand that no plan has been agreed by local health trusts for how this situation will be addressed to ensure that there is continued provision for people living in Cornwall with soft tissue sarcoma cancer. As November fast approaches, the situation becomes ever more urgent by the day.
“Without a clear plan, cancer care for these patients in Cornwall will be inadequate or disappear altogether. If that happens, they will be required to travel long distances outside of the region, often at significant and personal cost and discomfort, for a diagnosis and/or treatment at a highly stressful and difficult time. There is a risk that some patients will choose to have no treatment at all for their sarcoma rather than travel long distances.
“It is already incredibly challenging for people who have to deal with a sarcoma diagnosis and treatment. Sarcoma patients can have large tumours which are often painful and impact mobility. As part of their treatment, they could require six to seven weeks of daily radiotherapy. Travelling long distances is very difficult and exhausting and will require financial support for both the patient and any carer. We hope that local health trusts and the Government will urgently resolve the situation.”