Bloodwise briefing - New cancer strategy for England

Our briefing is based on the Bloodwise study into the needs of blood cancer patients, which included a survey of over 2,000 patients, carers, nurses and blood cancer clinical specialists and researchers.
Background

• In January 2015 NHS England announced the creation of a new, independent taskforce to develop a five-year action plan for cancer services with the aim of improving survival rates and saving thousands of more lives a year.

• The taskforce’s report, Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England 2015-2020, was published in July 2015. It sets out six strategic priorities and makes nearly 100 recommendations to improve radically the outcomes the NHS delivers for people affected by cancer.

• Priorities for blood cancer patients

• Awareness and early diagnosis Blood cancer is a complex area, including 137 different diseases. But combined, blood cancers are the third biggest cancer killers, and greater awareness and understanding of them will be essential if we are to beat them. We welcome the report’s focus on early diagnosis and the emphasis put on increasing our diagnostic capacity. However, there also needs to be a focus on how we can improve awareness of cancers, such as blood cancer, where symptoms can be non-specific and have similarities to other benign conditions. So far Be Clear on Cancer campaigns have been focused on solid tumours. A public awareness campaign around blood cancer would require a different approach and a focus on support in the primary care setting.

• Support for people living with and beyond cancer

Bloodwise are particularly pleased that one of the key recommendations is for the transformation of support for people living with and beyond cancer, which we called for in our initial response to the Cancer Taskforce consultation.

From our research we know that access to appropriate emotional support after treatment is one of the most significant areas of unmet need for blood cancer patients. This type of support is particularly important for blood cancer patients, as for many they will not have their cancer cured during treatment but will live with their cancer for several years. There is also a particular case of patients who are on so called ‘watch and wait’ for some forms of leukaemia and other diseases that progress very slowly, who have a very specific and unique set of needs.

When rolling out the Cancer Recovery Package, it is essential therefore that particular consideration is given to how this could be adapted for chronic patients managing their cancer as a long term condition.

• Specialist care The strategy also prioritises giving patients’ access to a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) which we support, as patients have told us the value of having a named professional to help coordinate all aspects of care and support.

• Our ask to Government and the NHS

• The Government have already backed a number of recommendations in the strategy, including: that from 2020 people with suspected cancer will be diagnosed within 28 days of being referred by a GP; and by 2017, there will be a new national quality of life measure to help monitor how well people live after their treatment has ended, so priorities for improvements can be identified.

• The next step is to ensure the strategy is implemented in full and adequately funded to ensure the key recommendations for blood cancer patients are realised.

• Different cancers will require different approaches, and a one size fits all approach would not meet the needs of blood cancer patients. We therefore urge Government and the NHS to work together with patient organisations and charities on identifying and designing services fit to meet patient need.

For further information please contact Lucy Simpson, Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Bloodwise at lsimpson@bloodwise.org.uk.