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  "path": "/health/cancer-diagnosis-rates-nhs-faces",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-22T23:02:01.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Warning over mouth cancer symptom as doctor says 'changes can be visible early'",
    "'I knew it was bad news': Woman diagnosed with bowel cancer at 26 warns early signs are easy to miss",
    "Woman, 31, opens up about symptoms she ignored before stage 4 cancer diagnosis",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nCancer diagnoses across Britain have surged to unprecedented levels, according to fresh analysis from Cancer Research UK.\n\nThe charity's latest report reveals that approximately 403,000 individuals receive a cancer diagnosis annually, equating to roughly one person every 80 seconds.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nBritain's growing and ageing population is primarily driving this increase, as the likelihood of developing the disease rises with age.\n\nOver the past decade, incidence rates have climbed from 610 to 620 cases per 100,000 people.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe NHS is buckling under the weight of this demand, with cancer waiting times now ranking among the worst ever recorded.\n\nLast year alone, some 107,000 patients endured waits exceeding 62 days before starting treatment.\n\nAnd despite efforts to catch the disease in its earliest stages, progress has been frustratingly modest.\n\nThe proportion of cancers identified early has shifted only marginally, from 54 per cent to 55 per cent over the past decade.\n\nMortality rates have declined, and 10-year survival figures have improved.\n\nCancer Research UK cautioned that mounting pressure on services threatens to halt this hard-won progress.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMichelle Mitchell, the charity's chief executive, underscored the urgency of the situation.\n\n\"More people are being diagnosed with cancer than ever before. Although cancer survival has doubled since the 1970s, progress has slowed over the last decade,\" she said.\n\nShe welcomed the Government's recently published National Cancer Plan for England, but stressed it must deliver tangible results.\n\n\"Publishing the plan is not a 'job done' on cancer: ambitions to diagnose cancers earlier, meet cancer wait targets and improve best practice treatment must happen quickly,\" Ms Mitchell stated.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Warning over mouth cancer symptom as doctor says 'changes can be visible early'\n  * 'I knew it was bad news': Woman diagnosed with bowel cancer at 26 warns early signs are easy to miss\n  * Woman, 31, opens up about symptoms she ignored before stage 4 cancer diagnosis\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe charity described the plan as a crucial step forward, yet insisted that adequate funding and resources are essential to transform ambition into meaningful impact.\n\nCancer Research UK is urging the Government to expand screening programmes, particularly for lung cancer, ensuring they are rolled out widely and effectively across the country.\n\nThe charity also called for the accelerated deployment of innovative diagnostic tests to catch the disease sooner.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nBeyond England, the organisation highlighted that Northern Ireland faces particularly acute challenges with waiting times.\n\nInvestment in specialist staff and cutting-edge equipment must be prioritised nationwide, the charity argued, if Britain is to meet its cancer care ambitions.\n\nThe Department of Health has been approached for comment on the report's findings.\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Cancer diagnosis rates soar as NHS faces worst waiting times on record"
}