‘My cancer spread while I waited months for surgery’: The cost of England’s cancer wait times

• England's cancer surgery waiting times have deteriorated despite government initiatives aimed at improving them, with patients experiencing significant delays that may allow disease progression
• Delayed surgical intervention risks cancer spread and potentially compromises treatment outcomes, as evidenced by patient cases where malignancy advanced during waiting periods
• Current NHS capacity constraints are failing to meet cancer care targets, requiring urgent resource allocation to prevent further deterioration in patient outcomes and survival rates

Cancer care has got worse since the government announced plans to speed up waiting times and save more lives, BBC analysis shows.

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