Thank you and congratulations on publishing the much anticipated National Cancer Plan for England. The compassion and empathy contained both within your foreword and that of Ashley Dalton, as professionals and former cancer patients, is greatly admired here at Perci Health.  

As you also state in your foreword, when it comes to implementing this plan, there truly is no time to waste. Dr. Anthony Cunliffe, a practising GP and Macmillan Cancer Support’s National Lead Medical Adviser and Clinical Adviser for London, describes it like this: ‘Right now, cancer care in the UK is failing far too many people.’ 

Cancer is no longer a rare or isolated event, it’s an increasing, population-wide healthcare challenge. Macmillan’s latest analysis reveals that someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer every 75 seconds, with nearly 1,200 people facing life-changing news every single day. Behind each diagnosis is a ripple effect, impacting families, workplaces, communities and the healthcare system at large.

At Perci Health, we support people from prevention to living with and beyond cancer, combining expert-led care with technology to reduce inequities, support return to work, and empower people beyond hospital walls. We believe your Plan’s success will depend on how quickly and effectively this kind of whole-pathway support becomes standard.

Yet, responding to this scale of need requires more than a clinical plan. It calls for a whole-society, cross-sector partnership – one that includes patients, clinicians, employers, insurers, charities and policymakers. Cancer is complex, and so must be our collective response.

We hope that this open letter will be the first to reflect that diversity. As the UK’s largest multidisciplinary cancer clinic, we have gathered perspectives from our professionals and lived experience board members, as well as charity partners, clinical specialists, insurers, GPs and experts in healthcare technology and policy, to offer you a truly cross-sector and collaborative response to the National Cancer Plan.

We’ve asked whether the Plan truly covers the entire cancer pathway, from prevention to survivorship. Dr Melissa Philips, Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Barts Cancer Institute, told us that, ‘As a clinician, I really welcome the Plan’s strong focus on earlier detection and genomics. Diagnosing cancer earlier allows us to use less intensive treatments, which improves both survival and long-term quality of life for patients. It also reduces pressure across the system.’ However our other group members questioned whether the plan includes enough emphasis on recovery. 

While the Plan aims to address the existing inequities in cancer care, members of the Perci Health Lived Experience Board identified gaps in these strategies, particularly in respect to supporting those with intersectional needs. Meanwhile our professionals, including an oncology dietitian and oncology physiotherapist, have concerns about access to rehabilitation and specialist support. 

Several members of the response group wonder whether the plan is deliverable at scale and within today’s workforce constraints. More than one felt that the role of Allied Health Professionals has been under-valued in the Plan, while Lisa Punt, Centre Head of Maggie’s Cambridge, said, ‘I feel there should be a broader view of what other services are currently in place that could partner with the NHS to provide holistic care.’

Finally, our response group unanimously praised the Plan’s investment in digital architecture but questioned whether the approach is comprehensive enough. Perci’s Chief Technology Officer Paddy Rehill, said that, ‘The opportunity now is to go further – using technology to enable genuinely personalised, risk-stratified and proactive interventions that innovate beyond existing pathways – not just digitising what currently exists.’ 

We invite you to read these responses in detail, here.

In conclusion, Sir, we would like to offer the words of Macmillan’s Dr. Anthony Cunliffe:

"It is going to take a relentless commitment to delivering the changes needed to truly breathe life into what right now are simply “words on a page”. The delivery will be everything. That is why Macmillan is beginning to invest in companies like Perci Health. With hundreds of thousands of lives being turned upside down by cancer every year, and with healthcare systems facing increasing pressure right across the UK, new solutions, new technologies and new ways of doing things need to be explored."

We’ve seen the power of connected care to change lives and reduce costs. Indeed, your Plan, with its golden thread of patient empowerment, only reinforces the need for whole-person, whole-pathway models like Perci Health, that support people beyond treatment and into survivorship, and return to life and work. 88% of our participants return to work within six months and 84% report improved quality of life. This strengthens the case for scalable, technology-enabled care and for closer partnership with private providers, insurers and employers to turn ambition into impact.

We’re pioneering a model of tech-enabled, performance oncology that combines digital innovation with human care, using data to personalise support, reduce variation, and proactively address the full impact of cancer on people’s lives. And we believe this must become the norm, not the exception.

Now is the time to embed whole-person, data-driven cancer care that goes beyond treatment alone. So, let’s work together, across sectors, specialisms and settings, to build a future where everyone affected by cancer has access to the right support, at the right time, for the best possible outcomes.

Signed, 

Laura Ashurst
Dr Matt Brown
Dr Anthony Cunliffe
Morgan Fitzsimons
Georgina Giebner
Allan Harper Reid
Kelly McCabe
Sharron Moffatt
Dr Melissa Philips
Paddy Rehill
Kat Tunnicliffe
Dr Lucy Davidson