In a crucial move, the Daily Express has partnered with leading charities and campaigners to deliver a vital message to Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Ashley Dalton. The campaign aims to ensure that mental health support is at the heart of the upcoming National Cancer Plan, set to be released on World Cancer Day, February 4th.
The call for action stems from the personal experience of Daily Express reporter Robert Fisk, who was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer in the summer of 2023. Fisk has witnessed firsthand the lack of mental health support available to cancer patients, both during and after treatment. “The mental health aspects of cancer are rarely talked about, let alone treated,” he says, “despite the emotional agony that millions of Britons with cancer go through each day.”
The letter, co-signed by a coalition of cancer charities and campaigners, outlines the pressing need for comprehensive mental health support. It highlights the heartbreaking stories of those who have taken their own lives due to the fear of cancer returning, as well as those who have only survived with the help of their GPs or organisations like the Samaritans.
The campaign is demanding that the National Cancer Plan ensure all NHS cancer patients receive a Holistic Needs Assessment, which is designed to identify physical, emotional, and practical needs. However, the letter states that this assessment is “rarely carried out, and when it is, many patients have said it hasn’t been fit for purpose.”
Furthermore, the campaign is calling for patients to be routinely asked about their mental health and wellbeing during consultations with their medical team, allowing them to be directed to the appropriate support, whether it’s low-level interventions or a referral to an oncology psychologist.
“Mental health issues are a main side-effect of all cancers, with patients forced to deal with a new, very uncertain reality, but medical teams don’t ask their patients about them,” the letter states. “This must change, and they must be made a focal point of the Holistic Needs Assessment.”
The coalition of charities and campaigners, including the likes of Henny Braund from Anthony Nolan, Dr. Michele Afif from The Brain Tumour Charity, and Laura Kerby from Prostate Cancer UK, have all lent their support to this vital cause. They are now eagerly awaiting a response from Wes Streeting and Ashley Dalton, hoping to secure a meeting to discuss how mental health support can be placed at the heart of the National Cancer Plan.