A battle is on to ensure cancer patients get the support they need to deal with the “bomb” that has gone off in their lives, according to a leading charity. Following a lengthy campaign by the Daily Express, Wes Streeting recently pledged that everyone diagnosed with cancer will have a personal cancer plan. This will help them deal with all aspects of their lives while battling the disease, and afterwards.

The fight to provide comprehensive support for cancer patients has taken center stage, as a prominent charity emphasizes the urgent need to address the life-altering impact of a cancer diagnosis. In response to a sustained campaign by the Daily Express, Wes Streeting has vowed that every individual diagnosed with cancer will receive a personalized cancer plan. This initiative aims to assist patients in managing various aspects of their lives during and after their battle with cancer.

Ms Peters said: “I’ve heard people describe diagnosis as a bit like a kind of bomb going off in your life and it affects all different aspects of your life.

“You need someone at your side and to feel that there’s someone at your side who will help you navigate all the different elements of your life which are affected. That really is at the heart of a care plan and just it’s someone to ask you the right questions, to help you think through, who knows, who’s experienced and expert enough to know where to navigate to get support.”

Peters elaborated on the profound impact of a cancer diagnosis, likening it to a bomb detonating in one’s life, disrupting multiple facets. “You need someone by your side,” she explained, “someone who can help you navigate the different aspects of your life that are affected. This is the essence of a care plan—having an expert to guide you, ask the right questions, and direct you to the necessary support.”

In pursuit of this goal, Macmillan Cancer Support has developed a holistic needs assessment, consisting of 42 questions that cover everything from personal relationships to employment. This tool is designed to pinpoint the areas where a cancer patient requires support, serving as a precursor to the envisioned personal cancer plans.

However, there is concern about the implementation of these assessments, as many hospitals currently do not conduct them. Without these assessments, the ability to ensure that every cancer patient receives a personal cancer plan remains uncertain, raising questions about the feasibility of the initiative’s timely rollout.

“At the moment it’s hugely variable whether or not you have those conversations and it massively depends on the area that you live, who you are, what, how valued they are by the hospital leadership.

“We know how important this is. The health system actually knows how important this is. And yet it’s been failed, it’s failed to be adopted across the country.”

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Ms Peters said: “The commitment in the plan is that everybody will have one of these and that we’ll start implementing that next year. I think the barriers definitely are staff training and leadership commitment. Are they really holding it as important in terms of how they’re assessing performance?

“But also just in general, the NHS is not amazing at collaboration with others, which is what it takes to deliver the care plan.

“The NHS needs to work with organisations like Macmillan, community organisations, local government, other bits of the jigsaw, because people’s needs, not all of the needs that people present with are things that someone who sits in a hospital can solve.

“Sometimes it’s needs like childcare or how do you get your blue badge or any number of things where what you need to be able to do is understand what the problem is but also navigate to the support that’s available.”