An audit of 29 lung cancer patients awaiting radical radiotherapy in Glasgow (O’Rourke and Edwards, 2000) found a median delay between the first hospital visit and starting radiotherapy of 94 days. During this time, six potentially curable patients became incurable.

O’Rourke N, Edwards R (2000) Lung cancer treatment waiting times and tumour growth. Clin Oncol 12: 141–144

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2001/dec/16/health.publicservices

London’s Observer (3/3/02) carried a story saying that an “unpublished report shows some patients are now having to wait more than eight months for treatment, during which time many of their cancers become incurable.” Another story said, “According to a World Health Organisation report to be published later this year, around 10,000 British people die unnecessarily from cancer each year — three times as many as are killed on our roads.”

The Observer (12/16/01) also reported, “A recent academic study showed National Health Service delays in bowel cancer treatment were so great that, in one in five cases, cancer which was curable at the time of diagnosis had become incurable by the time of treatment.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2006/jul/09/cancercare.health

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/mar/23/nhsstaff.health

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/mar/10/NHS.cancercare

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/mar/10/health.uknews

Perioperative mortality: “Patients who have major surgery in Britain are four times more likely to die than those in America, according to a major new study.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/sep/07/health.nhs

This is just the Guardian, ‘cause that’s what I happened to search. You can find the same at any other UK news site.

http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2007/03/tale-of-two-cancers.html