Breaking records in cancer checks

The NHS is making progress towards its ambition of diagnosing three quarters of cancers at stage one or two, when they are easier to treat. Statistics show a 133 per cent increase in people checked for cancer over the last decade, with almost three million people being seen for urgent cancer care checks between November 2022 and October 2023, the highest year on record.

NHS England national clinical director for cancer, professor Peter Johnson, said: “Cancer detected at an early stage gives people a much better chance of successful treatment, which is why the NHS has kept such a focus on early diagnosis and continues to find innovative ways to reach and test people in the community.”

One of these methods is the NHS lung health check programme, which has to date diagnosed almost 3,000 people with lung cancer – three quarters of which being at stage one or two.