Cancer care and where we need to be

When I joined Macmillan at the start of last year, I spent my first few months just talking to people – those we support and our partners, as well as organisations we haven’t worked well with before and many more. Hundreds of people shared their hopes and fears with me. This included both how we, as an organisation, can truly make a difference for people living with cancer - and where we haven’t been getting things right, what we need to learn from. 

 I’ve heard so many brilliant metaphors about Macmillan, really bringing to life the pride and also the frustrations that people have with our hundred-year-old charity. One of my favourites is around Macmillan being a jewellery box – how we have so many fabulous ‘jewels’ for people with cancer, but how they can get tangled together and how this makes it hard for each one to really shine and have the impact that it should. 

 Now over halfway through Macmillan’s year of metamorphosis, we have pushed ourselves to really question what needs to change, as well as where the biggest failings for people with cancer are and we have the capability to make the biggest difference. Meanwhile, we continue to be there for people with cancer day in and day out, doing whatever it takes to help ensure people get the support they need, when they need it. 

A trip to North Shields 

Right now, there are huge disparities in the care that people with cancer around the UK receive and this is unacceptable. We saw just last week in the Cancer Patient Experience Survey that people in England from ethnically diverse backgrounds, the LGBTQ+ community, or with an additional long-term health condition, are significantly more likely to report a poorer experience of care. This injustice isn’t fair, and we are working side by side with communities to help change this. 

 Earlier this month I visited our Fishermen’s Mission project in North Shields, where we are working with the fishing community, partner charities and the NHS to address some of the unique challenges - like irregular working hours, stigma and attitudes to discussing health - that this underserved community is facing. I found it thought-provoking to see the impact of our partnership - including work to recruit volunteer community champions as well as bring screening programmes and nurses down to the quay to meet crews as they come on land. The initiative is part of a wider project which aims to normalise the conversation around cancer while making healthcare more accessible, as we know that getting an early diagnosis and starting treatment sooner is critical to better outcomes.    

Our organisation was founded on the principle that cancer care should be personal, revolving around what each person needs – and we already work with underserved groups of people with cancer, partnering with organisations and communities like this, to help tackle the huge and unacceptable gaps in care. Working with people to co-create solutions to the challenges they face is one of Macmillan’s jewels, but it is not enough on its own - connecting that learning with decision makers across the UK is what makes this work transformative and we are still learning how to do that well. So when we develop something that works, its influence changes things for the better, for everyone.  

The need to choose carefully 

In this Macmillan ‘jewellery box’, the truth is that there are a thousand possible gems that we could choose from. But we need to choose carefully, focusing on where we’re needed most and where we can make the biggest difference. It’s not going to be easy and I fully accept this, as our challenge ahead continues to grow. Over 3 million people are already living with cancer in the UK and this number continues to rise, while three in four of these people are living with additional health conditions on top of their diagnosis - such as diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis. And we are all excited about new treatments and technology, Macmillan’s research tells us there are likely to be around 170 new cancer treatments over the next 10 years, that is one a month for a decade, each with different beneficiary groups and different skills required to deliver safely. We must ask ourselves how an already stretched workforce will be able to take time to implement these fairly across the UK. Cancer care is becoming an increasingly complex picture.  

Overcoming challenges is, however, in Macmillan’s DNA. We have pioneered innovation in cancer care for more than 100 years – and if we stay focused, I’m confident that we can spark a much-needed revolution in cancer care once again. There is real hope on the horizon, but it’s only by leaning into the challenge that we can hope to ensure everyone in the UK receives the best cancer care there is.