A patient-centred approach to revolutionising cancer care through digital 

By Gemma Peters, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support 

At Macmillan we do whatever it takes to ensure that everyone living with cancer in the UK gets the best possible care today, while we spark a revolution in cancer care for tomorrow. 

Every year, we support millions of people affected by cancer through our Support Line, cancer information, local partnerships and over 10,500 Macmillan-trained healthcare professionals. In 2023 alone, we reached approximately 2.3 million people. 

Yet, despite significant medical advancements and the promise of digital innovation, cancer care today is becoming increasingly challenging for both patients and healthcare professionals. 

Cancer care today 

There are almost 3.5 million people living with cancer in the UK and this number is continuing to rise. At the same time, people’s needs are becoming more complex as they live longer with cancer, often managing other long-term conditions as well. 

Meanwhile, the healthcare system is under enormous strain - as Lord Darzi’s review last year stated, it is in “serious trouble.” A lack of funding, stretched services, outdated facilities and workforce shortages are all making it harder for people with cancer to get the care they need. 

Medicine is business and there is a huge amount of investment in this space. And if you look at the news, there is an almost constant stream of coverage around new advances in healthcare that bring great promise. But given the significant investment, are we seeing tangible improvements for the people who are in the system right now? 

A fragmented experience for patients and professionals 

For many people living with cancer, the experience is getting worse rather than better. 

• One in three people with cancer say it’s harder to have cancer now than ‘at any other time they remember’. 

• People have vastly different experiences depending on who they are and where they live. 

• Cancer patients from LGBTQ+ and Black communities report receiving less support than the national average while receiving hospital treatment. 

Through our Macmillan Support Line, we hear daily from people who feel they are falling through the gaps.  

Healthcare professionals are also buckling under pressure – trying to manage increasing caseloads while navigating out-of-date digital systems. I recently shadowed a Macmillan nurse for the day and I saw for myself how outdated technology can make things even harder. She had to juggle five different IT systems – Cerner, Somerset, My Care Plan, NHS email, and radiology systems – just to do her job. 

 With digital investments accelerating, are we focusing our efforts in the right places? 

What people with cancer want and need 

If you or a loved one were diagnosed with cancer tomorrow, what would be most important to you? Would it be access to the latest cutting-edge technology? Or simply knowing that the fundamentals of good care are in place? 

 Research shows that in England: 

• Good admin counts - Admin efficiency is the single most important driver of whether cancer patients report a positive care experience. Cancer patients who say the admin of their care was well-managed are five times more likely to rate their care highly. 

• Human interactions matter - having a main point of contact and being told about a diagnosis in a sensitive way are among the top 10 factors for a positive care experience. 

Yet today, digital systems are underperforming for people with cancer. In many cases, digital solutions are making admin harder, not easier*. 

We must balance investment in big innovations with ensuring that the fundamental building blocks of care – timely communication, joined-up records, and human compassion – are in place. 

The opportunity 

In an ideal world, digital technology would fully integrate care, giving people with cancer a seamless experience from diagnosis to treatment and beyond. That may feel a long way off, but in some places we’re moving in the right direction with integrating care – and the potential is for digital to turbocharge this. 

• In Glasgow, we’ve partnered with the Council to roll out our ground-breaking ‘Improving the Cancer Journey’ programme across Scotland, offering tailored, joined-up support. 

• In Oxfordshire, the Rapid Intervention for Palliative and End of Life Care (RIPEL) project uses a single care planning system, so assessors and coordinators can access patient records wherever they’re based. Every day they hold a virtual Board round, where the care and palliative care teams check in, flag any concerns, and decide if a nurse needs to step in for a review or visit. Macmillan funds the social investment model that sits behind this innovative project in partnership with non-profit enterprise Social Finance, with grant funding from Sobell House Hospice Charity.  

The biggest opportunity for digital right now? Reducing the admin burden on healthcare professionals, freeing them up to focus on what matters most – patient care. 

Because ultimately, people want to be cared for by people. 

The role of participation and collaboration 

As Professor Richard Simcock puts it:  💬 “Too many products are designed to answer questions that no one has asked.” 

To build a truly patient-centred digital future, we must start by listening – and actually listening - to the people who will use these solutions, both patients and healthcare professionals. 

At Macmillan, we’re uniquely positioned to bring together: 

• People living with cancer, who are the experts in their own experiences 

• Clinical professionals, who understand the real challenges on the frontline 

• Innovators and developers, who are shaping the future of digital cancer care 

We recently demonstrated this at our World Cancer Day event, where we brought together over 100 community leaders and people with cancer with Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, to help shape the National Cancer Plan. 

We’re also pioneering new funding approaches, including: 

• Social investment, where we’re supporting innovation by investing in projects and services that improve outcomes for people, with repayment being contingent on being successful. Where there is a repayment, we can then reinvest this into more projects to deliver more outcomes for people 

• Our Impact Investment Fund, where we’re backing companies that prioritise patient-informed solutions 

• For example, we’ve recently announced our investment in Perci Health, a virtual cancer clinic reimagining how people access support through partnerships with employers and insurers 

Final Thoughts 

As I see it, the problem isn’t the pace of innovation – it’s how we organise ourselves to ensure that everyone benefits. 

Given the challenges that people and professionals are facing, are we thinking enough about the context in which new innovations will land and setting them up to achieve their full potential? Are we investing enough in the basics?   

Recent Macmillan research found that three in four people with cancer (74%) feel there is a positive role for technology and digital solutions in their care*.  

Yes, there can be challenges to accessing funding, but almost one in two of us will get cancer in our lifetimes and there is urgent need today. Now is the time to get this right. 

With the ten-year health plan and a cancer plan in development, the Government is looking for ideas. The world’s changing, so let’s change it for the better.  

💚 At Macmillan, we’re here to do whatever it takes. If you’re working on solutions that could make a difference, let’s talk. 

We’re here to ensure that everyone living with cancer in the UK gets the best possible care today, while we spark a revolution in cancer care for the future. And we can’t do it without you.  

👉 What do you think is the biggest challenge in making digital work for cancer care?  

 *Source: Macmillan Cancer Support/Yonder survey of 883 UK adults who have had a cancer diagnosis. September-October 2023