Cancer diagnosis statistics

Progress has been made in treating cancer patients quicker. A key target of having 95 per cent of urgently referred cancer patients begin treatment within two months was met at the end of 2008.

The target had been set in 2001 and was supposed to have been achieved by 2005.

Official statistics released last month showed that, between July and September 2010, 97.3 per cet of people suspected of having the disease began treatment in 62 days, up from 96.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

A total of 98.1 per cent of cancer patients started receiving medical care within 31 days of a decision being made to treat the disease, up slightly from 97.7 per cent in April to June.