Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats will spend today highlighting their pledges to cut cancer waiting times if either are able to form a government after the general election.
So, what are their plans?
Liberal Democrats
The party has proposed a £1bn boost for radiotherapy equipment, saying an extra 200 machines would “put the NHS in England amongst the top of the league tables of the number of machines per million people”.
The party also says every cancer patient should receive treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral, and could reduce the distances that patients have to travel to access treatment.
Labour
Labour has claimed 700,000 cancer patients will wait too long for treatment if the Conservatives are given another five years in government.
The party has proposed delivering an extra 40,000 appointments, tests and scans a week at evenings and weekends, doubling the number of CT and MRI scanners, with new AI-enabled scanners, and the biggest expansion of NHS staff in history.
