Our response to the National Cancer Plan

Guts UK welcomes the publication of the National Cancer Plan for England today, which includes a specific focus on rare and less common cancers for the first time.

The National Cancer Plan sets out how the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England will improve cancer care so that 3 out of 4 people diagnosed with cancer survive for five years or more by 2035. The ambitious plan sets out priority areas for improvement around diagnosis, treatment, quality of life, and survival.

From earlier diagnosis and better detection, to greater holistic support for those living with cancer, and an increase research funding and access to clinical trials – we are pleased to see that less survivable cancers are finally being given the attention they need and deserve.

As the national charity for the digestive system, Guts UK provides information and support, raises vital awareness, and funds research for people affected by digestive cancers, including stomach cancer, oesophageal cancer, liver cancer and bowel cancer.

We know that service users and our community have been significantly impacted by a lack of prioritisation and funding, particularly those affected by less survivable cancers of the stomach, oesophagus, and liver. They have long faced delayed diagnosis, fewer treatment options, and ultimately, poorer survival rates.

More widely, we know that the provision of cancer services varies significantly across the country and inequalities in cancer care must be addressed to ensure that everyone has access to the care and support they need.

If implemented and delivered well, the National Cancer Plan – alongside the Rare Cancers Bill which awaits a Third Reading later this month – has the potential to greatly improve the lives of those affected by cancer, and importantly less survivable cancer types, in England. The important work now commences to ensure robust implementation planning, including who, what and when, underpinned by necessary funding.

What does this mean for people affected by digestive cancers?

• Faster diagnostics: A £2.3 billion investment will deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029 and where possible, Community Diagnostic Centres will operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week, improving how and where people can access testing closer to home.
• Improvements to waiting lists: New technology is being developed to give patients better access to tests for cancer by offering them the earliest available appointment in their local area.  
• Straight to test pathways: Patients will go directly to the most appropriate diagnostic test before seeing a specialist, cutting out outpatient clinics. Straight to test pathways can speed up diagnosis in some cancer types, including colorectal (bowel) cancer (straight to colonoscopy) and upper GI cancers, such as stomach and oesophageal (straight to endoscopy).
• Treatment at specialist centres: More patients with rarer cancers will have their care reviewed and treated at specialist cancer centres, which will bring together the expertise of various healthcare professionals who will collectively agree the best treatment plan for each individual.   
• Extensions to NHS bowel cancer screening: Screening will cover people from the age of 50 and between now and 2028, the sensitivity of the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) will increase. Combined with increase uptake, this will deliver 17,000 earlier diagnoses by 2025.
• Jess’s Rule: To help GPs identify patients whose symptoms might indicate cancer, the government introduced Jess’s Rule in 2025, encouraging GPs to reflect, review and re-think when a patient presents for the third time with the same symptoms or concerns, including those which could indicate cancer.
• Improvements to condition treatment and management: Digital tools will help people affected by cancer to manage their care from home, with the support of clinicians when needed. Personalised support, informed by individual date, will help people to get ready for planned treatment and receive the right rehabilitation in the community afterwards.
• End of treatment summary: At the end of their treatment, every patient will receive a co-produced summary that reflects their own understanding of their condition, which will also help adjust what they receive from neighbourhood health services and will offer peace of mind of a rapid route back to hospital should they need it.

An investment in leadership with a National Lead for rare cancers will ensure that rare and less common cancer types get the attention they deserve, improving survival rates. Following decades of underfunding, the implementation of the Rare Cancers Bill will also make rare cancers a priority for research.

You can read the National Cancer Plan in full here.

Working together

Guts UK is a founding member of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, a group of charities who represent the six less survivable cancers: stomach, oesophageal, liver, pancreatic, brain and lung. Thanks to a lack of prioritisation and funding, these cancers have a five-year survival rate of less than 20% and currently account for 42% of cancer deaths in the UK each year. You can read the response of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce here.

Guts UK will work alongside our fellow Taskforce members, Cancer52, and other partners to continue advocating for our communities, highlighting the need for continued improvements to resource, funding and research, and ensuring change is made.