The open letter to the secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting, followed last week's publication of the National Cancer Plan.

‘Responding to this scale of need requires more than a clinical plan,' said Kelly McCabe, co-founder and chief executive of letter co-ordinator, Perci Health. ‘It requires whole-pathway, whole-person care that continues long after treatment ends.'

The letter's signatories agreed the Government and NHS cannot deliver the plan alone and argued for deeper partnerships across healthcare, technology, employers, insurers and the voluntary sector to close gaps in care and reduce pressure on overstretched services.

‘Cancer must be treated as a long-term condition that affects working lives,' said Sharron Moffat, Workplace Trainer. ‘If workplaces are not part of the solution, many people will continue to fall through the cracks.

‘The plan is strong on diagnosis and treatment, but far less developed when it comes to the realities people face alongside and after cancer, especially work, income, mental health and long-term functioning. These factors often shape recovery more than treatment itself.'

The open letter concluded with a call to embed whole-person, data-driven cancer care as standard practice, not innovation.