Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of breast cancer in younger women.

The NHS Long Term Plan’s ambitions for early diagnosis includes improvements for breast cancer patients of all ages. Rapid diagnostic centres (RDCs) have two models: for specific symptoms, which will include most women with suspected breast cancer; and for non-specific symptoms. As of October 2021, there were 159 live RDC pathways in England, compared to 12 in March 2020. Of these, nine are for breast cancer symptoms, with evaluation showing that breast cancer has been diagnosed through non-specific symptom pathways.

The NHS Long Term Plan sets the ambition to offer personalised care to all cancer patients and transform follow-up care, giving people choice and control over the way their care is planned and delivered, includes younger patients with breast cancer. NHS England’s Cancer Quality of Life Survey identify patients’ views on their care and if any new services are needed. The first data from this survey was published in October 2021.