Hope for Tomorrow join over 60 cancer charities to form One Cancer Voice
New projection suggest that a person will be diagnosed with cancer every two minutes by 2040 – in the 1970s, it was only every four minutes.
That is why a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities – known as One Cancer Voice – have united to urge the UK Government to deliver a bold, fully funded National Cancer Plan for England to save and improve more people’s lives.
It’s projected that over 1,100 people will be diagnosed with cancer every day by 2040.
This new analysis has shown that around 6.3 million new cancer cases are expected across England, with around 1,110 people diagnosed every day.
Over the last 15 years there have been 5.5 million cancer cases*. These new figures suggest there will be a 14.2% rise in cases over the next 15 years.
Some of the most common cancers are expected to reach all-time highs, including:
– Prostate cancer (1,050,000)
– Breast Cancer (900,000)
– Lung Cancer (821,000)
It’s also projected that there will be over 63,000 cases in children and young people aged 0-24.
One Cancer Voice’s Criteria
Despite progress in survival – which has doubled since the 1970s, the rising number of cases threatens to add additional demands on an already overstretched NHS. Without decisive action, England risks falling behind comparable countries in cancer outcomes.
With a National Cancer Plan for England expected later this year, the One Cancer Voice coalition has outlined six essential tests the plan must meet to take England from world lagging to world leading on tackling cancer:
1. Pledge to meet all cancer wait times by 2029 – the end of this Parliament.
2. Set a new earlier diagnosis target, improve screening programmes and support primary care to reduce later stage cancer diagnosis.
3. Introduce strong prevention policies, tackling major risk factors.
4. Ensure every patient receives the best possible treatment and inequalities are addressed.
5. Improve access to clinical trials for cancer patients, positioning the NHS as the world leader for cancer research and innovation.
6. Support everyone to live well with and beyond cancer with practical and emotional support embedded in NHS cancer care.
The charities are also clear that the plan needs to be fully funded as without this, the tests cannot be met.
In the first six months of 2025, over 50,000 cancer patients across England waited longer than they should to start cancer treatment**. Ourselves and the other charities warn that without bold reform and investment, these delays will continue.
One Cancer Voice is calling for public awareness campaigns to boost symptom awareness, supporting GPs to aid earlier diagnosis, and improvements to screening programmes.
*This is based on 5,515,530 new cancer diagnoses between 2003-2005 to 2018-2019, 2021, compared with projected 6,298,554 new cancer diagnoses between 2025-2040.
**The NHS in England aims to start treatment for 85% of cancer patients within 62 days of an urgent suspected cancer referral. However, this target has not been met since 2015 – a decade ago. The most recent data shows that in June 2025, 67.1% of cancer patients were treated within this timeframe.
Hope for Tomorrow join over 60 cancer charities to form One Cancer Voice
New projection suggest that a person will be diagnosed with cancer every two minutes by 2040 – in the 1970s, it was only every four minutes.
That is why a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities – known as One Cancer Voice – have united to urge the UK Government to deliver a bold, fully funded National Cancer Plan for England to save and improve more people’s lives.
It’s projected that over 1,100 people will be diagnosed with cancer every day by 2040.
This new analysis has shown that around 6.3 million new cancer cases are expected across England, with around 1,110 people diagnosed every day.
Over the last 15 years there have been 5.5 million cancer cases*. These new figures suggest there will be a 14.2% rise in cases over the next 15 years.
Some of the most common cancers are expected to reach all-time highs, including:
– Prostate cancer (1,050,000)
– Breast Cancer (900,000)
– Lung Cancer (821,000)
It’s also projected that there will be over 63,000 cases in children and young people aged 0-24.
One Cancer Voice’s Criteria
Despite progress in survival – which has doubled since the 1970s, the rising number of cases threatens to add additional demands on an already overstretched NHS. Without decisive action, England risks falling behind comparable countries in cancer outcomes.
With a National Cancer Plan for England expected later this year, the One Cancer Voice coalition has outlined six essential tests the plan must meet to take England from world lagging to world leading on tackling cancer:
1. Pledge to meet all cancer wait times by 2029 – the end of this Parliament.
2. Set a new earlier diagnosis target, improve screening programmes and support primary care to reduce later stage cancer diagnosis.
3. Introduce strong prevention policies, tackling major risk factors.
4. Ensure every patient receives the best possible treatment and inequalities are addressed.
5. Improve access to clinical trials for cancer patients, positioning the NHS as the world leader for cancer research and innovation.
6. Support everyone to live well with and beyond cancer with practical and emotional support embedded in NHS cancer care.
The charities are also clear that the plan needs to be fully funded as without this, the tests cannot be met.
In the first six months of 2025, over 50,000 cancer patients across England waited longer than they should to start cancer treatment**. Ourselves and the other charities warn that without bold reform and investment, these delays will continue.
One Cancer Voice is calling for public awareness campaigns to boost symptom awareness, supporting GPs to aid earlier diagnosis, and improvements to screening programmes.
*This is based on 5,515,530 new cancer diagnoses between 2003-2005 to 2018-2019, 2021, compared with projected 6,298,554 new cancer diagnoses between 2025-2040.
**The NHS in England aims to start treatment for 85% of cancer patients within 62 days of an urgent suspected cancer referral. However, this target has not been met since 2015 – a decade ago. The most recent data shows that in June 2025, 67.1% of cancer patients were treated within this timeframe.
