More than 60,000 cancer patients in England not getting necessary radiotherapy'

"More than 60,000 cancer patients a year in England are not getting the radiotherapy they need at all, while some face waits of up to six months to begin the treatment, research has found. The situation is so dire that nearly 100 heads of radiotherapy and oncology three-quarters of England's radiotherapy leaders have warned in an open letter that the government is failing patients."

"International experts agree that more than half (53%) of all cancer patients will typically need radiotherapy, but exclusive analysis of the latest NHS data in England shows only 35% actually receive it. The study by the charity Radiotherapy UK found 181,023 cancer patients should have received radiotherapy but only 120,569 did, leaving 60,455 patients a year without any radiotherapy at all."

"Thousands of cancer patients risk dying prematurely either because they are not getting radiotherapy at all or because of huge delays in starting radiation treatment. She added: Radiotherapy is one of the most cost-effective and curative cancer treatments we have. It is not a nice to have', this is a life-saving treatment. The government needed to urgently invest in more machines and staff and widen access to the treatment."

More than 60,000 cancer patients in England a year do not receive radiotherapy, and some patients face waits of up to six months to start treatment. International experts estimate 53% of cancer patients typically need radiotherapy, but only 35% in England actually receive it. NHS data show 181,023 patients should have received radiotherapy while only 120,569 did, leaving 60,455 untreated annually. Regional disparities are evident, with 36% treated in the south-west and 33.7% in the south-east. Leaders warn that limited machines and staff, long waits, and restricted access risk premature deaths and lower survival rates compared internationally.

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