Following the World Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday 24th September I was delighted to meet with Andy McGuiness, Macmillan Campaign Manager, at Labour Party Conference in Brighton.

As a Vice-Chair of the All Party Group for Radiotherapy and the All Party Group on Cancer I am campaigning for a Cancer Nurse Fund to train and double the number of specialist cancer nurses by 2030.

Cancer hasn’t stopped during COVID-19 and we cannot allow it to become the Forgotten C, as there are more than three million people living with cancer. The number of people living with cancer is set to rise to four million by 2030, and addressing the worsening cancer workforce crisis will be vital to ensuring people get the care they need.

There is a shortage of over 4,000 specialist cancer nurses across the country meaning people living with cancer around the UK are unable to access the critical help they need.

Time and again, people living with cancer describe their Macmillan cancer nurse as a lifeline.

Cancer affects us all. 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime, so it is in everyone’s interest to campaign and demand that the UK becomes a global centre of excellence for preventive care and cancer treatment. Unfortunately, as shown by the cancer workforce crisis, the Conservative Government are failing to fund and invest in maintaining even basic levels of care.