Dear party leaders, it's time to act.

It's time to act for people affected by cancer

Dear party leaders,

This general election needs to be a turning point for people affected by cancer.

We’ve made huge progress on cancer in the last 50 years. But, today, waiting time targets aren’t being met. Many face unequal access to diagnosis and treatment. Over the next decade, there is a £1bn funding gap for life-saving research into cancer.

But this can change. You can drive that change.

Cancer Research UK’s manifesto details the policies that, if enacted by the UK Government, can help prevent 20,000 cancer deaths every year by 2040.

Nearly 1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetimes in the UK. Behind each statistic is a real person affected by cancer. Partners holding hands, waiting for news. Friends missing at birthdays. Parents up late worrying.

We need the next government to act on cancer.

If the next UK Government commits to backing research, ending cancers caused by smoking, driving earlier diagnoses, ending the waits, and leading on cancer, we can transform UK cancer survival to be amongst the best in the world.

Ahead of the general election, we are calling on you to back that ambition and make cancer a priority in your manifesto.

Our aim is simple: longer, better lives.

Yours sincerely,

Future voters and cancer campaigners

What are Cancer Research UK calling for?

We're asking the next UK Government to:

Back research: Set out a plan to close the more than £1bn funding gap for research into cancer over the next decade.
End cancers caused by smoking: Raise the age of sale of tobacco and fund a world leading programme of measures to help people who smoke to quit.
Drive earlier diagnoses: Implement proven measures, including a lung screening programme, to diagnose cancers early and reduce inequalities in access.
End the waits: Ensure cancer wait time targets are met across England.
Lead on cancer: Publish a long-term cancer strategy for England and Establish a National Cancer Council, accountable to the Prime Minister, to drive cross-government action on cancer.

What does this mean for the devolved nations?

As health is a devolved matter not all of our policy calls for the general election include the devolved nations, so we’ll also be working ahead of future devolved elections to inform political parties in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Our call for the UK Government to back research is UK wide, and would impact the devolved nations. Additionally, we’re currently campaigning for all the devolved nations to implement a targeted lung cancer screening programme, which is one of our key calls.

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Together we are beating cancer. Are you in?
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Together we are beating cancer