On Wednesday 4 February (World Cancer Day), the Government published an ambitious 10-year National Cancer Plan for England.
Its core commitments include: taking action to prevent people getting cancer in the first place; making sure that people with cancer are diagnosed faster and more patients can access the most advanced and effective treatments; improving outcomes and productivity through AI, genomics, and other innovations; and supporting people to live better with cancer.
The National Cancer Plan also promises every patient a personalised cancer care plan, along with more access to specialist cancer care outside hospital and in underserved areas, and a greater focus on rare cancers and cancer in children and young people.
As one of the UK’s three specialist cancer centres, we care deeply about providing the very best care for everyone with cancer and take our responsibility very seriously.
Many of the Cancer Plan’s ambitions build on what we already do at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre to deliver specialist cancer care for the people of Cheshire and Merseyside, the Isle of Man and beyond.
In 2014, we were the first hospital in England to provide a ‘treatment at home’ service, with specially-trained cancer nurses giving patients systemic anti-cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy in their home or workplace, reducing the need for them to go to hospital. We have continued to innovate in this way – for example, patients on some treatments such as denosumab can now give themselves their own injections at home, if they choose, after being taught how to do it by their nurse.
Our Ambicare service means people on some high-risk treatments that used to require an inpatient stay can now receive their care as daycase patients. They can go home each evening, supported by remote monitoring by their clinical team and rapid access to triage, assessment and any care they need if they feel unwell.
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is also a bedrock of innovation, pioneering new services, technologies and treatments and embedding them into our clinical practice. Examples include our research excellence (including cancer vaccines), our groundbreaking immuno-oncology toxicities service, our acute oncology and urgent cancer care programme, the use of AI to support treatment planning, and our continued investment in technology and major medical equipment such as diagnostics and radiotherapy treatment machines.
We offer patients holistic needs assessments and care conversations with cancer support workers or clinical nurse specialists so we can arrange personalised support, tailored to their own unique circumstances. The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is a national leader in enhanced supportive care and supportive oncology, helping patients to live better during and after treatment – and to stay on treatment for longer by preventing or managing any side effects.
We also recognise the huge financial toll that a cancer diagnosis can place on individuals and their families. That’s why we are so proud of the support our Macmillan Benefits Advice team provide to those patients most in need, helping them access any financial assistance and benefits they are entitled to receive. In 2024/25, the team helped 2,356 patients access just over £6m of financial support.
The National Cancer Plan calls on all of us with an interest in cancer care to drive improved outcomes and experience, ensuring 3 in 4 people diagnosed with cancer are cancer-free or living well with cancer five years after their diagnosis.
At The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, that describes our core purpose, our heart and everything we care about – providing exceptional, personalised care to every patient, while driving improved outcomes and experience through our unique network of care for the people of Cheshire and Merseyside and beyond.
