As reported on the front page of The Guardian on Monday 7th November, more than 130,000 patients a year in England are not receiving vital NHS cancer care on time. Medical professionals are concerned that a growing failure to meet waiting time targets may be harming chances of survival.
Responding to this, Anna Jewell, Director of Operations at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said:
“Unfortunately, reports of long delays in treatment is something we too frequently hear about through calls to our Support Line, so these findings sadly don’t come as a surprise. It’s vital that we ensure people with pancreatic cancer are referred for and start treatment quickly to give them the best chance of successful treatment. Currently, 80 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer are not diagnosed until the disease is at an advanced stage, at which point there are very few treatment options, and surgery, the only possible curative treatment, is not possible. Just eight percent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have surgery. We know that people with pancreatic cancer worry that their cancer may progress or their health may get worse while they wait for treatment to start.
“Pancreatic Cancer UK is funding vital research aiming to reduce waiting times for surgery for people with pancreatic cancer, through its Clinical Pioneers Awards. We awarded £50,000 to a project led by Mr Keith Roberts at University Hospitals Birmingham, which is attempting to fast track people with pancreatic cancer for surgery.”