Young people twice as likely to face delays when trying to get cancer diagnosis, new analysis shows
Young people with cancer are twice as likely to face delays when they are trying to get a diagnosis, Teenage Cancer Trust analysis reveals.
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The latest National Cancer Patient Experience results show that almost half (45%) of young people aged 16-24 had to visit their GP three or more times before they were diagnosed. This is twice the national average of other age groups, which is 22 per cent*.
Almost one in five 16-24 year-olds (18.6%) reported that they had to visit their GP five times or more before being diagnosed.
These delays can have significant impacts on young people’s treatment and experiences, including on their mental health.
Jules Worrall, Chief Executive of Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “The results are a reminder that young people with cancer are still facing more delays than any other age group when they are trying to get a diagnosis. This must change.
“Every young person with cancer deserves to be diagnosed as quickly as possible, and to receive age-appropriate specialist care and support.
“The National Cancer Plan recognises this age group can face some of the longest waits, and it committed to taking action to ensure that young people are diagnosed faster. It is now vital that promises made in the plan are delivered.
“To help achieve this, there needs to be better support for healthcare professionals to spot cancer in young people, and more age-specific data collected and published to understand where improvements are needed.
“The commitments made in the Plan need to be turned into real change for young people with cancer.”
“I was cross that it could have been picked up sooner”
Kelly Underwood, 24, went to the doctor six times before she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in September 2025.
Kelly, who is being treated on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, said: “When I found a lump in my neck, around May 2025, I went to the doctors, but they were dismissive and thought that it was just raised lymph nodes. I was sent away without any antibiotics or other medication.
“I went to the doctors six times and felt like I wasn’t being listened to. By now my partner and I had googled my symptoms, and I’d found the word cancer, so I asked whether it could be cancer, but they laughed and said we shouldn’t be worried.
“The symptoms still weren’t going away. It was only when one doctor noticed that my bloods levels hadn’t been right for five years that I was sent for an ultrasound. On the ultrasound they found numerous raised lymph nodes around my neck and referred me for a biopsy and CT scan.
“When I was given a hospital appointment in the September, I went along with my partner Olivia just thinking that I was going to be given antibiotics for a possible infection, so we were shocked when I was told I had cancer. I wasn’t told which type it was and I had to wait another ten days not knowing. We were not given notice that this appointment would be so life changing and I was young, so ideally, I’d have liked to have been able to bring my parents.
“When I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, they didn’t know if it was stage 3a or 4, so I was really cross that it could have been picked up sooner. I was confused why no-one had noticed my bloods were off for over five years either. I lost trust in the doctors.
“When I was transferred to the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, they made me feel listened to, and I had every trust in them. Being treated around other young people really helped me too. I can’t wait to finish treatment and help as many people who are affected by cancer as possible.”
Notes
*This average refers to the mean average of all other age groups compared to 16-24 year olds.