Record 2.2 MILLION people were tested for cancer last year as more than 300,000 received NHS treatment for the devastating disease
- Last year was the busiest ever for cancer checks and treatments for the NHS
- Almost 6,000 people per day were checked for various forms of the disease
- Skin cancer was the most common concern, with more than 450,000 checks
- Experts say ‘greater awareness’ of cancer is the reason for the rising numbers
More than two million people were tested for cancer last year for the first time ever, the NHS has announced.
Almost 6,000 people were checked for the devastating disease every day in 2018, while a record-breaking more than 300,000 people received treatment.
The rises come as the NHS is pursuing a plan to speed up cancer diagnoses and spot the illness earlier in a bid to improve survival rates.
Almost 6,000 people per day – more than four every minute – were tested for cancer by the NHS last year, according to the health service’s own figures (stock image)
Figures revealed by the NHS today showed 2.2million cancer checks were carried out last year after people had been urgently referred by their doctor.
This was a sharp increase from 1.9million in 2017 and, rather than a cause for concern, officials say the rise is a good sign.
‘Thanks to a greater awareness of symptoms, more people than ever before are coming forward to get checked for cancer, with over two million in just one year and record numbers of people receiving treatment,’ said NHS England’s national director for cancer, Cally Palmer.
‘We want to see even more people seeking help when something is not right.
‘Catching cancer earlier when it can be treated best is crucial to providing peace of mind for patients and their families and saving more lives.’
The biggest increase in referrals for cancer tests was among people with suspected cancer in the urological system – which could include the genitals or bladder.
There were 18.8 per cent more referrals in this area than in the previous year up from around 192,000 to 228,000.
There were also big increases in the number of people being referred for skin cancer tests (17.2 per cent), lower gastrointestinal cancer (16.3 per cent), and testicular or breast cancer (both 15.1 per cent).
Skin cancer was the most common concern, with 455,098 tests carried out in 2018.
Numbers of people being treated for any cancer rose by four per cent from 295,133 to 308,058.
Cancer rates are expected to rise among British people in the coming years because of an ageing population, but younger people are also developing it more quickly than their parents.
Scientists from the American Cancer Society say rates of cancer are rising quicker in millennials because they’re fatter than previous generations.
Obesity-related cancers – including bowel, womb and pancreatic – are significantly increasing in under-50s, suggesting numbers will soar in decades to come.
Experts warned it is further evidence of a time bomb which threatens to reverse decades of progress in cancer survival.
Two thirds of Britons are now overweight and more than a quarter of the population is obese. Being fat is one of the biggest avoidable causes of cancer.
Pancreatic cancer cases rose by 4.34 per cent a year among 25 to 29-year-olds over the last two decades. This is 5.6 times higher than the 0.77 per cent rise in those aged 45 to 49.
The ACS study found rates of the blood cancer multiple myeloma and cancers of the bowel, womb, gallbladder, kidney, pancreas, and thyroid all increased in adults aged between 25 and 49.