Three quarters of cancer patients will survive for at least five years by 2035, the Government pledged today, as it announced a new 10-year cancer strategy that will benefit people living with the disease across the UK.
The plan, announced on World Cancer Day, focusses on ensuring that cancer is detected as early as possible, and will see new measures introduced to verify test results and diagnoses.
Mersey News Live understands that the strategy will work closely with Merseyside health institutions, organisations, and Liverpool City Council.
According to Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, this work will include an increase in Merseyside based lung cancer screenings due to higher rates of these forms of the disease in the region.
These screenings will be carried out in Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens, and Halton.
There will also be at-home bowel cancer tests available.
The Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance have stated that they aim to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage I or II by 2028.
Under the strategy, every patient will receive a personalised support plan alongside an allocated care lead in order to tailor necessary care to the patient.
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The Merseyside region already boasts a strong cancer detection and support system through the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre trust.
Clatterbridge Centre has been ranked 5th out of 121 cancer trusts in the UK for wait times.
Data from NHS England shows that as of November 2025, 84.2% of patients at Clatterbridge underwent the process of first diagnosis to the start of their treatment in under a 62-day period.
This is a considerable step above the national average, which shows that only 69.1% of cancer patients who were treated by other hospitals underwent this process within the same time frame.
In an interview with BBC News, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “For too long, we’ve treated the tumour and left the patients to figure out the rest on their own.”
Speaking about the announcement, Keir Starmer said: “The future already looks brighter for the NHS.”
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(Featured image credit to Clatterbridge Cancer Centre)
