Professor Pat Price, leading oncologist and co-founder of the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign, has responded to news that NHS England will not meet its cancer backlog target for the fourth year running since the pandemic. 

Professor Price said: 

“The failure to meet the cancer backlog recovery target for a fourth year is proof positive that we are in a cancer crisis and we urgently need a new dedicated cancer plan.

"It’s inexcusable that such failure is baked into the system and the Government and NHS leaders appear unwilling to change course.

"This document's publication without any real statement is not just a quiet shifting of the goalposts; it's a heartbreaking confirmation of the lack of ambition to ensure timely cancer treatment for patients. We urgently need a new dedicated cancer recovery plan.”

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Photo: The #CatchUpWithCancer campaign and 20 supporting charities meeting at Westminster ahead of World Cancer Day to spotlight the 220k patients that have waited too long for cancer treatment since 2020.