'It took months to start treatment after calling my GP', says Peterborough cancer survivor
A new report shows cancer waiting times are among record lows, with the UK lagging behind when it comes to combatting the disease.
Last updated 2nd Feb 2024
A cancer survivor from Peterborough is backing calls to cut cancer waiting times, after it took nearly three months to be admitted to hospital for treatment after calling her GP.
A new report, commissioned by Cancer Research UK, found cancer waiting times across the country are amongst the worst on record, too many cancers are diagnosed at a late stage and access to treatment is unequal.
20-year-old Georgia Kennedy was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2022, but says she was "in-and-out" of hospital for years before that:
READ MORE: Peterborough cancer survivor backs calls for better support for young people with disease
'I've been to countless doctors and been told that it was just teenage problems, or that I'd grow out of it. To then be diagnosed with cancer aged 19, I think that's not a coincidence.'
'I first went to the GP at the start of November and I'd got a diagnosis in the first week of January. I'd been in and out of hospital since I was about 15, having tests for things that I never got diagnosed officially.'
'Considering my health now I think, from my own body, that I've had this for a very long time.'
'I do know that a lot of people that aren't in inpatient care, they're waiting weeks or months at a time for these scans and biopsies, which just makes the whole ordeal more stressful.'
She added: 'The longer people are having to wait, being misdiagnosed, the more the backlog is and the bigger the stress on the NHS is as a whole.'
'If we finally get down to diagnosing things early, not only does that help with prognosis, it relieves stress on the NHS; charities aren't stretched as thinly to help people.'
UK lagging behind in tackling cancer
The new report, commissioned by Cancer Research UK, revealed the UK is lagging behind comparable nations such as Australia, Canada, Denmark and Norway when it comes to tackling the disease.
It comes alongside a backdrop of rising cancer cases, with the charity warning cases in the UK will rise by a fifth to around 506,000 by 2038/2040.
To combat the problem, the charity said a National Cancer Council for England must be set up to bring down waits, while a 10-year strategy should be launched for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The report said the UK's poor outcomes when compared to other countries are likely due to the speed at which people are diagnosed and access to optimal treatments.
"Research also suggests differences in policy between countries may also explain some of this international variation," it said.
"Countries with consistent cancer policies have seen the greatest improvements in cancer survival between 1995 and 2014."
Around four in 10 cancer cases in the UK are preventable, with these cases driven by smoking, obesity, sun exposure, alcohol intake, poor diets and lack of exercise, the report went on.
Cancer Research UK chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: "Cancer survival in the UK is at the highest point it's ever been, which shows that together, we're making progress on beating cancer.
"It's worrying that the rate of improvement has slowed in recent years though, and cancer patients today face anxious and historically long waits for tests and treatments.
"Almost one in two people across the UK will get cancer in their lifetime. The number of new cases each year is growing.
"Beating cancer requires real political leadership and must be a priority for all political parties ahead of a General Election."
A DHSC spokesperson said:
“We welcome the news that record numbers of people are surviving cancer long term, with people being diagnosed earlier and the NHS treating record numbers of cancer patients over the past two years. But we know there is more work to do.
“We are working to make access to cancer services faster and simpler. We have also invested £2.3 billion into speeding up diagnosis and launched 153 Community Diagnostic Centres across England, which will help us achieve our aim of catching 75% of all cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028.
“Smoking causes 1 in 4 cancer deaths and leads to 80,000 deaths per year. Our plans to stop children who are 15 this year or younger from ever legally being sold tobacco will protect future generations from various forms of cancer.”