First Welsh cancer strategy in two decades to be developed

The Welsh Government is to develop its first national cancer strategy in 20 years, setting out a 10-year plan to improve cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Despite cancer being Wales’ biggest killer, with one in two people expected to be affected by it during their lifetime, the Welsh Government has said the performance of cancer services in terms of treatment and outcomes continues to lag behind where it should be.

The Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor, added that a lack of national direction and strategic ambition has compromised the fight against cancer for too long.

The development of the 10-year National Cancer Strategy aims to set an ambitious vision for cancer care in Wales, based on proactively addressing the preventative causes of cancer, boosting rates of early diagnosis and developing optimal pathways of care for all types of cancer from initial diagnosis to end of life care.

It will also strengthen accountability and ensure that the postcode a person lives in no longer determines the quality of care they receive.

Working with the European Cancer Organisation and other international partners, the government seeks to draw on the best international evidence and innovation to ensure the strategy reflects the latest thinking in cancer care.

Additionally, a formal call for evidence will be launched giving patients, carers, clinicians, charities, and the public a direct role in shaping Wales’ future approach to cancer.

The Welsh Government has already moved to engage the Wales Cancer Alliance who represent more than thirty cancer charities, and has said it will work intensively with the NHS and third sector throughout.

The strategy will be published to coincide with World Cancer Day on 4 February 2027.

Alongside the development of the strategy and in line with its First 100 Days Plan, the Welsh Government is also developing Right to Be Forgotten principles to help cancer survivors access financial services.

Work has begun on a travel and accommodation fund for children and young people attending cancer appointments, and the Welsh Government is commissioning a feasibility study for a new Rapid Diagnostic Centre in Powys.

Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “For patients waiting too long for diagnosis, for families in rural communities who face greater barriers to care, and for the clinicians working hard to deliver world-class treatment with insufficient national coordination, this strategy matters.

“Wales has not introduced a national cancer strategy since 2006. In the two decades since, treatments have transformed, diagnostic technology has advanced, the needs of our population have changed, and our understanding of cancer has deepened dramatically.

“This Welsh Government is moving at pace, and it is moving with purpose on this priority of national importance. Every person in Wales deserves the best possible chance against cancer. This strategy will deliver it.”