Cancer affects us all.  Delivering the best outcomes for cancer patients is an absolute priority; we want every person with cancer to have the very best diagnosis, treatment and care.

YouTube Video- The NHS Long Term Plan & Commitments for Cancer

Cancer screening is looking for cancer before a person has any symptoms. Screening tests can help find cancer at an early stage, before any symptoms appear. When abnormal tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat or cure. 

It is important that when you're called for any cancer screening, whether it is routine, or your doctor suggests you go for screening, that you attend. 

Screening tests have many goals:

- Finds cancer before symptoms appear

- Screens for a cancer that is easier to treat and cure when found early

- Has few false-negative test results and false-positive test results

- Decreases the chance of dying from cancer

Please note that screening tests do not usually diagnose cancer. If a screening result is abnormal, you may get sent for further testing to detect if the abnormality is cancer. 

There are around 3,200 new cervical cancer cases in the UK every year, that's nearly 9 every day. 

The NHS cervical screening programme in England is offered to people with a cervix aged from 25 to 64. Routine screening is offered every three years up to 49 years of age and every five years from 50 to 64 years of age.  Depending on the result of the screen, people may be recalled earlier than these routine intervals.

As part of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, all samples taken at cervical screening appointments are now being tested for high risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in the first instance. This is the virus which causes nearly all cervical cancers. Samples that test positive for HPV will then go on to be further analysed with Liquid Based Cytology to detect cell abnormalities.  The new test will identify more people at risk of cervical cancer earlier and could prevent around 600 additional cancers a year.

HPV is a very common virus which effects around 8 in 10 people; it is nothing to be embarrassed about, and in many cases, your immune system will naturally get rid of HPV.

For more information on the cervical screening programme, please visit the NHS cervical screening pages

About 1 in 7 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. If it’s detected early, treatment is more successful and there’s a good chance of recovery.

Breast screening uses an Xray test called a mammogram that can spot cancers when they’re too small to see or feel.

Breast screening is offered to women aged 50 to their 71st birthday in England. You’ll first be invited for screening within three years of your 50th birthday.

If you are 71 or over, you will stop receiving screening invitations. You can still have screening once you are 71 or over if you want to and can arrange an appointment by contacting your local screening unit.

If you’re worried about breast cancer symptoms do not wait to be offered screening, see your GP. 

Bowel cancer is the 4th most common type of cancer. Screening can help prevent bowel cancer or find it at an early stage, when it's easier to treat.

Bowel cancer survival is improving and has more than doubled in the last 40 years in the UK. If diagnosed early, more than 90% of bowel cancer cases can be treated successfully.

Screening programmes test to see if people show any early signs of cancer. By detecting bowel cancer at an early stage, treatment has a better chance of working.

As part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, men and women aged 60-74 are sent a home testing kit every two years to collect a small sample of poo to be checked for tiny amounts of blood which could be caused by cancer.

The NHS has created a useful easy-read leaflet which shows the pathway of cancer screening.

What happens when a doctor asks you to see a specialist?

Your waiting time starts from whe the hospital, or service you have been reffered to recieves your referral letter, or when you book your first appointment through the NHS e-Referral Service. 

During this period you may:

- Have tests, scans or other procedures to help ensure that your treatment is appropriate for your condition.

- Have medicine or therapy to manage your symptoms until you start treatment.

- Be referred to another consltant or department. 

Your waiting time ends if a clinican decides no treatment is neccessary, if you decide you do not want to be treated, or when your treatment begins. 

This could include:

- Being admitted to hospital for an operation or treatment. 

- Starting treatment that does not require you to stay in hospital, such as taking medication.

- Beginning fitting for a medical device, e.g- leg braces.

- Agreeing to have your condition monitored for a time to see whether you need further treatment. 

- Receiving advice from hospital staff about how to manage your condition.

If you're waiting for a hospital appointment or treatment, you can use the My Planned Care website to check the waiting times at your hospital. 

Maximum waiting times for non-urgent referrals

The maximum waiting time for non-urgent, consultant- led treatments is 8 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter. 

The 18 week referral waiting time does not apply if:

- You choose to wait longer.

- Delaying the start of your treatment is in your best clinical interests, such as stopping smoking or losing weight.

 - It is clinically appropriate for your condition to be actively monitored in secondary care without clinical intervention or diagnostic procedures at that stage.

- You fail to attend appointments that you had chosen from a set of reasonable options. 

- The treatment is no longer necessary.

Maximum waiting times for urgent cancer referrals

The maximum waiting time for suspected cancer referral is 2 weeks from the day your appointment is booked through the NHS e-Referral Service, or when the hospital or service receives your referral letter. 

For further information on NHS waiting times, please visit: Guide to NHS waiting times in England