Cancer deaths will rise for ‘first time in decades’ due to Covid, charities warn
CANCER deaths will rise for the "first time in decades" due to the Covid pandemic, charities have warned.
Experts say a slump in diagnostics and delays in treatment will contribute to falling survival rates.
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One Cancer Voice, a group of 47 British cancer charities, says the problem could be avoided with urgent action to address problems stemming from the pandemic.
Together they said more money and staff are desperately needed to reduce a growing backlog of cancer cases.
Private facilities should also be drawn in to help with the crisis, the group said.
Michelle Mitchell, the head of Cancer Research UK – which leads One Cancer Voice – told BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat: “We are calling on the government to invest more money in ensuring the backlog of cancer cases is reduced and eliminated.
“We could face, in this country today, the prospect of cancer survival reducing for the first time in decades.
"That’s why urgent action is required by the government.”
Recent figures from NHS England show 171,231 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in January.
The figure is an 11 per cent drop on the 191,852 in the same month the year before.
And in January this year, 16 per cent fewer cancer sufferers started treatment than 12 months earlier.
Prostate Cancer UK says nearly 9,000 fewer men started prostate cancer treatment last year after referrals plummeted by more than a quarter.
And almost 11,000 people haven't been diagnosed with breast cancer thanks to disruptions, Breast Cancer Now believes.
In a statement to Newsbeat, the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a top priority throughout the pandemic, with 1.86m urgent referrals and over 477,000 people receiving cancer treatment between March 2020 and January 2021.
“We continue to urge people to come forward to their GP if they have symptoms. As part of our additional investment in the NHS, an extra £1bn is being used to boost diagnosis and treatment across all areas of elective care in the year ahead.”
A major analysis in August shone a light on the devastating impact Covid will have on cancer.
Researchers warned Brits are now less likely to survive some of the worst cancers than 15 years ago because of Covid.
Many patients have the same risk of dying from the disease as in the early 2000s, when outcomes were significantly poorer.
For example breast cancer deaths are predicted to rise by ten per cent, meaning one in six patients will not live long-term, according to the findings in the medical journal Lancet Oncology.
Outcomes have not been this bad since 2005.
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Part of the problem has been people are too fearful to go into a healthcare setting during the pandemic due to the threat of catching the coronavirus or putting the NHS under too much pressure.
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But early diagnosis and therefore treatment could be the difference between life and death.
Experts including NHS head Simon Stevens have reminded people to see their GP if they have any concerning symptoms.