The National Health Service (NHS) is initiating a revolutionary strategy aimed at cutting 30,000 cancer-related deaths before the year 2020 ends.
NHS officials want to double the number of cancer tests done so that the condition could be diagnosed at an earlier stage. This could mean saving more lives in the long run.
Simon Stevens, NHS England's chief executive, said that £2 billion is allotted for the purchase of new equipment.
"One in two of us will get cancer at some point in our lives and the good news is that survival rates are their highest ever," Stevens said.
"But two fifths of cancers are preventable and half of patients are currently diagnosed when their cancers are advanced," he continued.
The Independent Cancer Taskforce, composed of key organizations, including NHS England, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Royal College of GPs and cancer groups, is slated of releasing a report regarding this strategy anytime this week.
The task force head, Harpal Kumar, considers this as a great "opportunity to save many thousands of lives from cancer every year."
"We're better informed than ever about how best to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease, and how to deliver better patient experience and quality of life. What's needed now is action," Kumar continued.
The program will also spend around £250 million for 126 new radiotherapy machines which will be distributed throughout the country.
The Independent Cancer Taskforce is also urging the Government to push cigarette prices and introduce a new "fat tax" to save 30,000 every year. The program wants to see cigarette price soar to £15 by 2020 to cut the smoking rate from 18.4% to 13%. The fat tax, meanwhile, is geared at fighting obesity but levying new taxes on fatty foods, fizzy drinks and sugar products.
Among the several programs that NHS England wants to initiate include the following:
1. Letting patients directly schedule their own appointments with a hospital diagnostic service or testing unit rather than see a GP first.
2. Providing as many types of cancer tests as possible on the same day.
3. Tapping local pharmacists to closely monitor patients with recurring cancer symptoms.
