Cancer screening pop-ups set up at shopping centres and soccer grounds

Sajid Javid wants cancer services to learn from rapid scientific progress made in the pandemic – but he admitted England needed to “go further” in improving treatment, including vaccines. He opened a call for evidence on a ten-year plan for a “national war on cancer”, in a speech at the Francis Crick Institute yesterday to mark World Cancer Day. Mr Javid told the north London audience: “I lost my dad to this vicious disease and I know all too well the grief and the heartbreak that this brings.

“When it comes to cancer, there isn’t a moment to spare. If he had been diagnosed a bit earlier, he may still be with us.”

Mr Javid said there are 166,000 cancer deaths a year – a “daunting statistic” – with a UK diagnosis every 90 seconds.

He set an ambition of exceeding the NHS long-term plan for 75 percent of diagnoses to be made at stage one and stage two by 2028.

Mr Javid said: “The majority of deaths from cancer come because we sadly catch it too late.

“Detecting the disease early can save time, save money but, most importantly, can save lives.”

He said one-stop community diagnostic centres should produce two million scans in the first year and trucks with diagnostic equipment have brought “phenomenal” results after successful pilots.

Mr Javid said the “we come to you” approach helped boost early diagnosis of lung cancer by 80 percent. Asked if the public might one day turn up to community sites and ask for “scans on the spot”, Mr Javid said: “Yes.”

But he added: “Not quite yet. They are going at a record pace…we are going to get to 100 certainly by the end of the year, maybe more…but I’d like to see a future for many more referrals, to get those scans that people need that don’t necessarily need to go through their GP.”

Some scans will link to hospitals, others will be set up in malls and stadiums: “The key is to have something as accessible as possible.” Mr Javid said he wanted to “explore every avenue for how vaccines can help us”, adding the HPV jab could help eradicate cervical cancer “in my lifetime”.

The eight-week call for evidence will inform a strategy to make England’s cancer care system “the best in Europe”. It seeks input from cancer patients, their relatives and NHS workers.

There were 50,000 fewer UK diagnoses during the pandemic.