Cancer
We would introduce a new cancer plan for Wales. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to the postponement of diagnostic and screening programmes and there is a risk that we will be diagnosing many cancers at a later stage than otherwise would have been the case.
We would prioritise the continued roll out of multidisciplinary diagnostic centres across Wales, making access to diagnostic tests easier for patients and GPs.
Where the clinical evidence supports it, we will expand screening programmes and ensure they are well promoted. We would use mobile screening units to take the service to the hardest to reach communities and ensure fast turnaround of results to enable cancer to be diagnosed earlier.
Upon diagnosis, we will ensure earlier treatment, establishing more ambitious targets from diagnosis to treatment based on clinical evidence about the appropriate time length.
For patients who receive a late diagnosis, we will endeavour to give options to participate in clinical trials to access promising new treatments. We will also ensure priority access to private sector technology such as the proton beam therapy centre in Newport.