Myeloma – National Cancer Plan

The fact that so many patients attend (before diagnosis) multiple GP visits or are only diagnosed in A&E after irreversible damage has occurred, is a damning indictment of a system which too often fails those who need it most. Current government targets, based on the staging of solid tumours, are not appropriate for blood cancers. This oversight should be corrected in the forthcoming National Cancer Plan.

I support your call for the inclusion of specific, measurable targets which reflect the reality of diagnosing blood cancers. These targets should include:

• Earlier diagnosis.
• Cutting the proportion of diagnoses made via emergency admissions.
• Ensuring that blood cancers are no longer sidelined by inappropriate metrics.

Cancer treatment should be a priority for any Government. The UK should not fall behind our international peers in cancer research and outcomes. The previous Conservative Government broke its promise on a 10-year cancer plan which could have made a significant difference for patients. We must put an end to the tragedy of lives lost because treatment came too late, or because there weren’t enough staff or equipment to deliver care when it was needed. It is a scandal that so many people live in treatment deserts, forced to travel long distances after weeks of waiting, often while enduring the physical and emotional toll of a late diagnosis.

My Liberal Democrat Parliamentary colleagues and I welcome the government’s commitment to a national cancer strategy, secured in part thanks to the campaigning of my colleague, Clive Jones MP. However, this plan should also include our proposals:

• A guarantee that 100% of patients begin treatment well within 62 days of urgent referral;
• Replacement and expansion of radiotherapy machines, so no one is forced to travel unreasonable distances for care;
• Recruitment of more cancer nurses, ensuring every patient has a dedicated specialist throughout their treatment;
• A Cancer Survival Research Act, requiring the Government to coordinate and ensure funding for research into the cancers with the lowest survival rates;
• A commitment to halve the time it takes for new treatments to reach patients, by expanding the capacity of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

I will write to the Secretary of State for Health to urge that the new National Cancer Plan includes these essential reforms and recognises the unique challenges of diagnosing and treating blood cancers.