The National Cancer Plan: what could it mean for men with prostate cancer?

World-class cancer care. That’s what the Government’s new National Cancer Plan pledges to deliver over the next 10 years. 

Unveiled by the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting MP, the plan was developed over the course of last year and sets out how ministers intend to improve cancer care across the UK. 

Its headline ambition is that, by 2035, at least three out of four people who are diagnosed with cancer will survive for five years or more. And it also promises to meet standard targets for cancer waiting times by 2029. 

But how will this be done? Joe Woollcott, our Head of Health Policy, Education and Awareness, breaks down the plan in detail and explores what the Government’s new approach could mean for prostate cancer diagnosis, treatment and care. 

To speed up the process of diagnosing cancer, ministers have pledged to invest in community diagnostic centres – local healthcare facilities that enable patients to have certain cancer tests closer to home, while reducing pressure on busy hospitals.  

They’ve also outlined ways that new technology will help to accelerate cancer diagnosis, committing to introduce artificial intelligence tools that will make MRI scans even faster, while automating other steps in the diagnostic process too. 

We regularly hear from men who’ve been left waiting for an MRI scan, or for their biopsy results to be processed and read by an appropriate clinician, so steps to improve these aspects of the pathway are welcome. 

It’s now down to the Government to show they can roll out these new technologies in a way that’s fast, fair and gives every man access to the highest quality healthcare. This will be the real test – and we’ll be ready to hold them to account on their commitments. 

Further along the diagnostic pathway, ministers say they’ll make it much easier for men to manage their prostate cancer care at home. 

“Virtual cancer care will be a priority”, the plan says, with ‘virtual hospital’ pathways set up for men who are at risk of prostate cancer and have a raised PSA level. So they can get the care they need at home, safely and conveniently. 

Those who are monitoring their cancer with active surveillance will also be supported to order and complete their PSA blood tests at home, saving them a trip to the hospital and clawing back valuable clinic time for doctors. 

Giving these men what they need to manage their cancer care at home is a positive step. But the Government must make sure men aren’t left at home without the necessary wellbeing support, which so many rely on. 

Encouragingly, the plan recognises the vital importance of nurses in prostate cancer care. It includes a commitment to make sure every man has a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) – or another named healthcare lead – to support them through their diagnosis and treatment.  

It also promises that every man will get a personalised assessment of his individual needs at the point of diagnosis, completed with the help of their CNS or another member of their hospital or primary care team. 

From the thousands of calls we receive to our Specialist Nurse service each year, we know how difficult it can be for men to navigate prostate cancer – so it’s encouraging to see this acknowledged and reflected in the Government’s plans. 

The important question is: how will it be done? With nurses already overstretched and overburdened, ministers must explain how the nursing workforce will be properly resourced to carry out these assessments. 

For all the detail in the Government’s plan, there’s one clear headline that immediately catches the eye: ministers have signalled their ambition that by 2035 three quarters of people who are diagnosed are cancer-free or living well with cancer after five years. 

This would be a significant achievement, increasing from 50 per cent in 2008 and a projected 60 per cent in 2022. 

The Government intends to hit this ambitious target by driving up the proportion of cancers that are diagnosed early – at stages one and two – and reducing the number of people who are diagnosed at stages three or four, when it may already be too late for a cure. 

But what does this mean for reducing late diagnosis of prostate cancer specifically?  

Ministers acknowledge that the plan has been published while we wait for the UK National Screening Committee’s final recommendation on prostate cancer screening. A screening programme will be implemented “where the evidence supports it”, the plan says, while also highlighting the increased risk of men who have a BRCA gene variant. 

We’ll continue to play our part in defining and delivering a screening programme for these men, while we keep working to close the evidence gaps that currently block the path to screening for other men at highest risk of prostate cancer – including Black men and men with a family history of the disease. 

In the longer term, we’re greatly encouraged to see our groundbreaking screening trial, TRANSFORM, acknowledged in the cancer plan. This sends a clear signal that the Government is focused on working towards a world where all men are screened for prostate cancer. 

Finally, the plan also addresses a critical point – one that we’ve been campaigning on for the last two years – around updating the NHS’s current prostate cancer guidelines for GPs.  

The plan states that the way men are advised will be updated following the UK National Screening Committee’s final recommendation, to make sure men have “clarity” on their symptoms and prostate cancer risk. 

After two years of campaigning, this long-awaited change to the guidelines would represent a major victory for men. 

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