Some 2.4 million patients have missed out on cancer tests and treatments due to a backlog caused by the coronavirus pandemic, charities have said.
According to Cancer Research UK 2.1 million patients are awaiting screening appointments for breast, cervical and bowel cancer and another 290,000 have not had referrals for tumours. It is also estimated that about 21,600 patients have had surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy postponed in the past nine weeks.
Sarah Woolnough, policy chief at Cancer Research UK, warned that hospitals faced a “huge backlog to clear”. She told the Daily Mail: “It’s a massive backlog of services and treatment to deliver. It’s absolutely huge, it’s thousands and thousands.”
Cancer Research’s figures found that 12,800 patients in the UK have missed out on
