Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the options for breast cancer survivors to preserve their fertility.

The National Health Service is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients in England, including women with breast cancer, have access to personalised care, including a needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. Psychosocial support, which can include NHS Talking Therapy services, provides evidence-based therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression.

To provide options for breast cancer survivors to preserve their fertility, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) fertility guidelines set the clinical standards for the current NHS offer to people with cancer who wish to preserve their fertility. The NICE is currently reviewing its guidelines, with publication of a revised guideline expected later this year.

Reducing inequalities and variation in cancer care, including for breast cancer care, is a priority for the Government. To address this, NHS England funded audits into primary and metastatic breast cancer. Using routine data collected on patients diagnosed with breast cancer in an NHS setting, the audits bring together information to look at what is being done well, where it is being done well, and what needs to be done better. Findings were published on 12 September 2024 by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre, and officials in the Department and NHS England are considering next steps. Further information on the national audits of metastatic breast cancer and primary breast cancer is available, respectively, at the following two link:

https://www.natcan.org.uk/audits/metastatic-breast/

https://www.natcan.org.uk/audits/primary-breast/

To raise awareness and educate women about primary prevention of breast cancer, the Government and the NHS promote a healthy lifestyle. In England, to promote physical activity, the NHS’s Better Health Campaign signposts people to digital support like the NHS Active 10 walking app. To address risks related to overweight and obesity, Government guidance on healthy eating, including the United Kingdom’s healthy eating model the Eatwell Guide, is communicated through the NHS.UK website and through a range of free, evidence-based tools and apps.