The number of people with cancer raising concerns about their care is “increasing significantly”, according to the chief executive of a major charity.
It comes as the latest annual report from Macmillan warned “no-one should underestimate the scale of the challenge facing cancer care in the UK”.
Chief executive Gemma Peters described Macmillan as a “safety net” for those with a cancer diagnosis who are experiencing issues, and stressed there is “lots of stuff that works” when it comes to cancer care.
However, she said that patients are raising concerns about delays and pressures in the system.
“We’re hearing about increasing delays to diagnosis; so people struggling to get GP access, returning multiple times with concerns that are taking longer to get a cancer diagnosis,” she said.
“You can see the variation of time to diagnosis across different parts of the country. Then there’s huge variation in the time to treatment.
“We’re also hearing all the time about the pressure in the system. We’re hearing more and more from people who haven’t been able to get hold of someone.
“It’s kind of what broadly feels like administrative problems, but actually are a system that’s under huge pressure and isn’t able to meet the needs of its population.
“All of those concerns – I would say we would always have had some of those – but they’re increasing really significantly at the moment.”
In 2024, Macmillan spent £150.4 million supporting those affected by cancer, reaching more than 2.4 million people, up from 2.3 million in 2023.
Some 286,000 people were supported by Macmillan’s online community, more than double the number 12 months earlier.
In her foreword to the annual report, Ms Peters said: “No-one should underestimate the scale of the challenge facing cancer care in the UK.
“We’ve seen the number of people living with cancer surge to almost 3.5 million.
“At the same time, we heard how many people were finding it harder to have cancer than at any other time they could remember.”
She added that Macmillan meets challenges “head on”, including “a hugely challenging financial environment” and a “cancer care system continuing to teeter at crisis point”.
During the year, the charity launched a five-year strategy which was shaped by the views and experiences of thousands of patients, healthcare professionals, volunteers and other experts.
Ms Peters said she is “confident” in the strategy, and it has “exceeded” some of her expectations.
“It was really about focusing the organisation on the things we know are going to have the biggest difference for people with cancer,” she said.
“As an example, having a Macmillan professional through your cancer experience makes a really big difference. We set out to grow the number of Macmillan professionals and support them differently, and we hoped that we would have 1,000 new professionals by the end of this year, and we hit 1,000 last month.
“That’s now 11,000 Macmillan professionals up and down the country.”
She added: “The number of people with cancer, obviously, is going up. We’re at three-and-a-half million now, it will be four million soon.
“The number of younger people with cancer is going up. The complexity of people’s needs with cancer is increasing.
“We had to do things differently if we were going to have any chance of meeting that need. So yes, I’m pleased, but I’m not complacent.”
Macmillan’s latest annual report comes days after the charity warned an estimated four in 10 people with cancer in the UK have struggled to access care because of where they live.
A survey of 2,002 adults with a cancer diagnosis, carried out by YouGov for the charity, asked if patients had chosen to travel to another hospital for a shorter waiting time or better treatment option.
Some 40 per cent selected one or more of these options, which Macmillan said represents almost 1.4 million of the 3.4 million people with cancer in the UK.
Ms Peters said the charity is “waiting with bated breath” for the national cancer plan, which is expected to be published later this year.
“I want to see a really strong focus on people with cancer,” she said.
