Every year, the NHS in England finds out what cancer patients think about cancer services. To do this, they send out a survey to cancer patients and their families. This report looks at the main things people said about the cancer care they got in 2024. The report does not say what services need to do next. Services can use people’s answers to give better care and support patients.

Highlights of the report are:

  • 9 in 10 people said the administration of their care was good or very good and their whole care team worked well together to give them the best possible care. This was an improvement compared to 2023.
  • When a doctor thinks someone might have cancer, they should explain what will happen next. Two thirds of people (67%) said that they understood the information about what would happen next.
  • 8 in 10 people (78%) said the amount of time they had to wait for test results was OK.
  • People were asked about when they were told they had cancer. Three quarters (75%) of people said the staff were kind and caring when they talked to them.
  • When you have treatment, you have one main member of staff to support you. This is your main contact person, and is usually a nurse. 9 in 10 people (91%) said they had a main contact person to help them through treatment.
  • Staff talk with patients about which is the best treatment for their cancer. We asked people if they were involved in decisions about their treatment. 8 in 10 people (80%) said they were involved as much as they wanted to be in any decisions about their treatment and 85% of people said their families were involved as much as they wanted to be in any decisions about treatment.
  • 8 in 10 people (79%) said the amount of time they had to wait for their cancer treatment at a clinic or day unit was about right and three quarters of people (75%) said that side effects were fully explained to them.
  • People can get care and support from their local doctor’s surgery whilst having cancer treatment. Less than half of people (48%) felt they got the right amount of support from their local doctors surgery.
  • 8 in 10 people (78%) said they got the right amount of support with their health and feeling OK in their mind.
  • 9 in 10 people (87%) said they were given all the information they needed when they left hospital. And that the information was easy to understand.
  • A third of people (34%) who needed extra support said they got help from a community service or charity.
  • Two thirds of people (65%) were given enough information about the chances of the cancer coming back or spreading.

Here is an Easy Read document for the 2024 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES): CPES-2024-national-quantitative-report-easy-read-version