A new care plan is to be introduced to fight against cancer with the hope of saving 30,000 lives.

New plans are set to be introduced to improve treatment in the fight against cancer. Under the new plans patients in England will get results of tests that are looking for cancer within four weeks of being referred by a GP within the next five years. In addition NHS England cancer task force are also aiming overhaul and replace old machines in a bid to improve care and move towards delivering world class cancer care in England.

It is estimated that the cost of the plan will hit approximately £400 million a year which over five years will end up at £2 billion. But experts suggest there could be a long term saving should these changes be made with many cancers set to be caught earlier. If the plan is successful it is thought 30,000 extra cancer patients will survive for ten years.

Every year 280,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in England, and at the current rate approximately half survive for at least ten years. The chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens said, "The good news is that survival rates are at their highest ever, but two-fifths of cancers are preventable and half of patients are currently diagnosed when their cancers are advanced. That's why the NHS will be backing this groundbreaking route map for prevention, earlier diagnosis, modern treatments and compassionate care."

However while the plans have been welcomed by the NHS some critics believe the plans are quite ambitious with an NHS that is already struggling. Dr. Maureen Baker from the Royal College of GP's said, “The system is already overloaded and we must ensure that there is sufficient imaging and specialist capacity to cope with the increased number of referrals before promises are made to patients that cannot be delivered."