Macmillan Cancer Support is warning the latest cancer treatment waiting times in Wales reveal the huge pressures the coronavirus pandemic continues to place on cancer care.

The latest data released for September marks 18 months since the first coronavirus lockdown and the charity says it shows a picture of missed or late diagnoses, where four out of ten people with cancer in Wales are now facing delays in life-saving cancer treatment.

Macmillan warns that at its peak in April 2020 Wales experienced a staggering 63% reduction in the number of people being referred for cancer testing, meaning thousands of people could have faced a missed or delayed cancer diagnosis.

While many of the people who had been missing a cancer diagnosis have now begun to enter the system after 18 months of disruption, Macmillan warns that cancer care services in Wales are struggling to cope with this increase in demand.

The latest data for September shows that the month was the highest on record with 14,965 people being referred for testing because of a suspected cancer. At the same time, the month also recorded the worst performance against Wales’ national cancer treatment waiting time targets since the pandemic began.

Of the 1600 people who started their cancer treatment in September, only 944 did so within the national target of 62 days, leaving 656 people with cancer to face anxious waits in that one month alone.

The charity is warning of a ‘perfect storm’ of winter pressures and cancer nurse shortages combined with an expected surge in the numbers of patients being diagnosed with more advanced cancers following Covid-19 disruption.

Only recently the charity reported that across its welfare benefits services in Wales there had been a 20% increase in applications to fast track welfare benefits for people who are terminally ill.

Macmillan believes the rise points to an emerging "side effect" of the cancer backlog caused by the pandemic, namely people being diagnosed later with harder-to-treat cancers as a result.

Jon Antoniazzi, Policy Manager for Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales, said:

“Cancer will affect one in two of us and while the world may have had to go on stop over the last 18 months for coronavirus, cancer certainly did not.

"Achieving the best outcomes for people with cancer rests firmly on them receiving both an early diagnosis and timely treatment, but for so many people during this crisis that hasn’t happened.

“Even before this crisis hit, Wales’ cancer care system was under tremendous pressure.

“Our own recent report and research shows that Wales will need to see an 80% increase in specialist cancer nurses by the end of this decade alone just to keep up with demand.

“But while chronic understaffing may be the biggest crisis facing cancer care in Wales, when combined with winter pressures and the fact that more people are now expected to be diagnosed later with more complex and advanced cancers, the worry is that the worst is very much still to come.

“Action is needed now to see Wales through the next few months and to avoid a repeat of the last two winters in which we have seen performance against national cancer treatment targets dip considerably.

“We have to acknowledge the huge pressures being placed on NHS staff who have already had to cope with these 18 months of crisis and the strain that has placed on them.

“That is why Macmillan wants to see a dedicated cancer workforce plan, funding and dedicated time for training and development to be offered to the cancer workforce and nurses who wish to specialise in cancer further on in their careers.”

“If anyone is worried and needs advice, information or a chat you can call Macmillan for free on 0808 808 0000.”