AWRC responds to National Cancer Plan for England
The Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre welcomes the publication of the UK Government’s National Cancer Plan for England, which was released today. We strongly support the plan’s shift toward treating cancer as a long-term condition – an important reframing that aligns with our work to help people live well throughout the cancer pathway.
We also welcome the ambition for 75% of people diagnosed with cancer to survive at least five years by 2035, and wider commitments around earlier diagnosis and improved access to treatment.
We are pleased that our cancer prehabilitation programme, Active Together, is recognised in the plan as a nationally leading example of personalised, community- embedded prehabilitation.
The plan presents a universal digital model for prehabilitation as the mechanism to improve accessibility. We agree that increasing access to high-quality, evidence-based support is a priority but caution a unilateral shift to digital first, without appropriate consideration of the wider-system factors that influence engagement and access in communities. Our research underlines that personalised, face-to-face, community-embedded prehabilitation – strengthened by digital support networks – remains the most effective approach for many individuals preparing for and recovering from cancer.
Digital tools can add significant value to prehabilitation when integrated into a personalised care pathway, but they have the potential to widen, not close inequality of access if not introduced as part of personalised and context-appropriate support. Our ongoing collaboration with the Royal Marsden Hospital is working to develop such hybrid models.
The AWRC is committed to working with Government, NHS partners and communities to drive innovation in prehabilitation. We continue to advocate for models which balance digital innovation with personalised, community-embedded care.
Dr Liam Humphreys, Senior Research Fellow on Active Together and lead of our Living Well with a Health Condition research theme said, ‘“The National Cancer Plan for England sets out an ambitious vision for improving cancer care. To achieve that vision, we must ensure that no one is left behind by digital innovations which must be part of wider holistic and inclusive care pathways. With cancer deaths nearly 60% higher in the most deprived communities, investment in accessible, personalised and culturally appropriate services are essential if we are to help people live longer and better with and beyond cancer.’