A MAJOR cancer charity is warning that lack of post-diagnosis support is putting ‘unsustainable’ pressure on the NHS.

The NHS in England spends more than £500-million a year on emergency care for people diagnosed with the four most common cancers alone, a new report from Macmillan Cancer Support reveals. Of this, more than £130-million is spent treating people more than six months after their diagnosis, when initial treatment has usually finished.

In the Cancer Cash Crisis report it warns that a lack of post-diagnosis support for people living with cancer is putting increased pressure on overstretched accident and emergency departments as the health service faces another winter of high demand.

It reveals the often life-long costs associated with supporting the growing number of people living with cancer. The charity calls for an end to the current ‘dysfunctional’ one-size-fits-all approach to cancer after-care which often fails to help people recover well and have a good quality of life.

The charity is urging the Government to fully fund and implement the cancer strategy for England, warning that ‘choosing to do nothing will only increase costs’ in years to come.

New figures in the report estimate that total care and support for people living with cancer beyond their initial treatment will reach approximately £1.4-billion a year by 2020, £1-billion of which will be spent on treating the consequences of cancer and its treatment, such as damage to internal organs and severe limb swelling.

Over the last 20 years in Devon the number of people surviving cancer is 40,237 which represents more people than ever before living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis. The charity says the needs of people living with cancer must be addressed through a full programme that supports people to live well and beyond their initial treatment.

While early diagnosis is important, care costs can be high even when cancer is caught at an early stage, according to the report. For example, new figures reveal that for the 40,000 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer each year, the cost of inpatient care during diagnosis and initial treatment (£155-million) is dwarfed by the almost £100-million more (£250-million in total) spent on inpatient hospital care after their initial cancer treatment ends.

Findings published earlier this year showed that fewer than one in three people (31%) diagnosed early with a common cancer (breast, prostate or lung cancer) will survive both long-term and in good health. This is despite their early diagnosis and the cancer not spreading.

Juliet Bouverie, executive director of services and influencing at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: ‘Emergency care should be a last resort for people living with cancer, and the fact that such vast amounts are spent on it each year is symptomatic of a system that is not geared towards helping people take control of their health.

‘This has to change, and the Government and NHS must take the difficult but vital decision to fully fund this shift.

‘The story does not end when someone’s treatment finishes, and many people live with the effects of cancer for the rest of their life. This means the NHS needs the money to care for people far beyond initial treatment.

‘There will be significant cost implications in the future if the government and NHS do not invest now. Quite simply, money has to be spent now, and spent wisely, to save later.

‘The Government and the NHS must fully fund and implement the cancer strategy for England, investing this money at the earliest stage. The strategy provides a range of important solutions that will put cancer care on course for improvement, and help stem the rising tide of costs.

‘One such recommendation is the rolling out of a recovery package including a holistic needs assessment and other key interventions which have been proven to help people get their lives back after treatment.’

The recent Spending Review announced an extra £3.8-billion investment in the NHS next year, but detail is yet to be confirmed as to how the NHS plans to spend this cash injection.

For more information or support, call 0808 808 00 00 or visit the website www.macmillan.org.uk