The number of people in the UK who have cancer will reach a record high of 2.5 million this year, up 400,000 from five years ago, according to a charity.
Macmillan Cancer Support says the rise is largely due to improvements in treatment and detection, with 1.6 million diagnosed at least five years ago. A growing and ageing population is another factor, with the number of over-65s with cancer increasing by almost a quarter in five years. Macmillan said more people living with the disease is a mounting challenge for health services.
“While it is great news that more people are surviving cancer or living longer with it, progress is a double-edged sword,” the charity’s chief executive, Lynda Thomas, said. “As numbers surge, the NHS will soon be unable to cope with the huge increase in demand for health services and the support that organisations like Macmillan provide will become even more urgent and important.”
Macmillan analysed projections for 2010 and 2020 by researchers for King’s College London and University College London to come up with the figure for 2015. The number of men with prostate cancer has seen the biggest rise – 27% in the past five years and there are about a fifth more people with breast cancer. There has been a similar increase in the numbers with colorectal cancer, it says.
The latest Office for National Statistics figures showed that 80% of people with breast, prostate or skin cancer were living for five years after diagnosis. The proportion was 90% for testicular cancer, continuing a trend of increasing survival.
Macmillan says that although some will recover and survive in good health, a quarter of people in the UK face poor health or disability after treatment for cancer. It wants political parties to prioritise cancer care in their general election manifestos. Specifically, Macmillan wants them to commit to increase cancer survival rates to match the best in Europe, to ensure all patients are treated with the highest levels of dignity and respect, and provide free social care for people at the end of their life.
“It is essential that every one of those 2.5 million people receives the highest quality care and support and gets the best chance they possibly can of surviving cancer,” said Thomas.
Members of the public can pledge support for Macmillan’s demands at www.timetochoose.org.uk.
