Macmillan press releases and statements

• Leading cancer charity reveals hair loss is not the most common side-effect of cancer
• Macmillan responds to latest Scotland cancer incidence and mortality data
• With cancer waiting times in England at risk of stagnating, leading cancer charity stresses support line is open for business this summer

• Scotland started 2025 with the worst quarterly performance against the 62-day cancer waiting times target since records began
• Leading cancer charity issues warning about ‘quick fixes’, following flurry of calls about weight loss injections
• Macmillan responds to the latest NHS Wales Cancer Waiting Times figures 
• Almost 5,000 people with cancer in Scotland waited more than two months to start treatment in 2024
• New Macmillan analysis reveals almost half of men in their 30s wait for health problems to simply go away

• Macmillan responds to the latest NHS Wales Cancer Waiting Times figures
• Over half of UK adults hold outdated views about cancer, putting people at risk, charity warns 

• In February over 700 people in Wales waited over two months to start cancer treatment 

• In January alone over 800 people in Wales waited more than two months to start cancer treatment
• More than 9,000 people with cancer in England waited more than two months to start treatment in January

• NHS in Wales misses national cancer waiting times target for 4th year in a row
• Macmillan responds to NHSE February 2025 Cancer Waiting Times Data 
• Wes Streeting calls for ‘the biggest revolution in NHS history’ at Macmillan World Cancer Day event

• The progress in cancer waiting times in Wales is still woefully inadequate
• Number of people with cancer in the UK reaches record high of almost 3.5 million
• Is this the legacy our politicians want — inaction when it comes to caring for people with cancer?

December

• With Christmas approaching we must remember there are real people behind cancer waiting times figures
• Inaction is putting the lives of people living with cancer at risk in Northern Ireland
• Thousands of people in Scotland are waiting too long to be diagnosed and start cancer treatment
• Today’s results show some improvement in cancer waiting times in October, but it’s not enough
• Macmillan Cancer Support responds to Scotland's budget announcement
• Macmillan’s response to ‘NHS milestone’

November

• Another missed opportunity to set out specific plans to reduce cancer waiting times in Wales
• Macmillan responds to latest NHSE Cancer Waiting Times

October

• Macmillan responds to the Chancellor’s 2024 Autumn Budget announcement
• Latest figures show that too many people in England are still waiting too long for cancer treatment 
• Hundreds of people in Wales continue to suffer agonising long waits for the cancer diagnosis and essential treatment they need

September

• Inaction is putting the lives of people living with cancer at risk in Northern Ireland
• Almost 2,500 people with cancer in Scotland waited too long to start cancer treatment in the first 6 months of this year 
• Cancer waiting times performance in Wales drops to worst July level in four years
• Macmillan responds to Darzi investigation 
• Macmillan responds to Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey | Macmillan Cancer Support
• Charity calls for urgent investment in cancer care, as patients warn it’s harder to have cancer now

August

• Macmillan calls on new First Minister to deliver on the commitments made to transform cancer care 
• Over 50,000 people with cancer waited too long to start cancer treatment in the first 6 months of this year 

July

• Statement from Macmillan Cancer Support on 2023 Cancer Patient Experience Survey results
• No real change in Welsh cancer waiting times in two years since Welsh government’s plan to reduce them

June

• Macmillan responds to latest NHS Cancer Waiting Times Data in Scotland 
• Macmillan warns Wales is lagging years behind on cancer care as targets missed 
• UK cancer care ‘stuck in the noughties’
• Responding to NHS England’s latest Cancer Waiting Times data 

May

• Macmillan Cancer Support responds to latest NHS England Cancer Waiting Times

April

• Macmillan responds to latest Wales Cancer Waiting Times Data 
• University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre welcomes Patron back to public duties 
• Macmillan responds to NHSE February 2024 Cancer Waiting Times Data

March

• Princess of Wales’ cancer message sparks biggest number of weekend visits to Macmillan Cancer Support’s online information and support pages since Covid-19 lockdown 
• Macmillan responds to January 2024’s Personal Independence Payment (PIP) data for England and Wales 
• Macmillan responds to NHSE January 2024 Cancer Waiting Times Data
• We need to talk about sex…and cancer 

December

• Charity sees a rise in crisis calls as tens of thousands of cancer patients ‘struggle to survive due to devastating financial hardship’
• Give people the gift of time: Leading cancer charity piles pressure on Governments across the UK to act now on cancer delays

September

• CANCER, CUPPAS AND CONVERSATION: The value of opening up

July

• Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England joins Macmillan Cancer Support’s Board of Trustees
• Tom Daley, Bill Bailey, Trevor Nelson, Merlin Griffiths and other famous faces team up with Macmillan Cancer Support to help more men ‘Find The Words’ to talk about cancer

June

• Macmillan Cancer Support joins forces with Barbers across London to help more black men find the words to talk about cancer
• ‘Categorically unacceptable and entirely avoidable’: Leading charity blasts UK governments over cancer care delays

March

• Charity shares tips on navigating the health service as cancer patients say NHS is their biggest worry
• Santander UK becomes first sponsor of Macmillan Cancer Support’s Mighty Hikes

February

• Cancer charity sees patients resort to selling possessions and even using loan sharks to make ends meet as cost of living crisis continues to spiral

January

• People with cancer forced into debt to heat their homes and put food on the table as thousands wait months for PIP payments

December

• Making Macmillan inclusive of everyone

October

• Cost of living crisis risks ‘wiping out’ finances of younger people with cancer and plunging them into debt
• Tens of thousands of cancer patients say their health has deteriorated while waiting to receive Government financial support

September

• Spilling the tea: New poll reveals coffee over tea as UK’s hot drink of choice
• Leading cancer charity warns ‘patients are facing impossible choice’ between getting to hospital appointments or food and water as cost-of-living crisis soars
• Gemma Peters announced as new CEO of Macmillan Cancer Support
• Numbers of people waiting too long for cancer treatment in England currently almost 500% higher than same time a decade ago

August

• “Cancer floored me…. My friends had to fundraise just to keep me in my home” — Celebrities and people with cancer share their experiences in intimate shoot with acclaimed photographer, Rankin

May

• England’s cancer backlog could take more than five years to clear, leading cancer charity warns

April

• Hundreds of thousands of cancer patients simply ‘can’t afford life’ as the cost-of-living crisis risks patient’s health
• Lynda Thomas, CBE steps down as Macmillan Cancer Support CEO

January

• Celebrities urge the public to pour their support into Macmillan Coffee Mornings as plummeting sign-ups risk almost 200,000 people missing out on support

December

• Paying the price of cancer: Millions of cancer patients face financial burden of nearly £900 a month 

November

• Mountain of almost 50,000 people still missing a cancer diagnosis in the UK as NHS already struggling to cope with existing demand

September

• Severe nurse shortages putting cancer patients at risk

August

• Celebrities urge the public to pour their support into Macmillan Coffee Mornings as plummeting sign-ups risk almost 200,000 people missing out on support