The head-to-toe DIY cancer checks you need to know - as half of Brits wait longer than a month for diagnosis

ALMOST half of Brits with cancer have to wait longer than a month to get their diagnosis, it has been revealed.

Only 52 per cent are receiving diagnoses within NHS England’s target of 28 days, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).

The Faster Diagnosis Target (FDS) aims to diagnose or rule out cancer for 75 per cent of people within 28 days of an urgent referral.

Overall, 77 per cent of people tested - including those without cancer - got their results within a month.

But the figures suggest positive results are slower to arrive than negative ones.

In the last three months of 2021, 57 per cent of patients with cancer were given their results within the NHS target time, but this fell to 52 per cent by the middle of 2024, the CRUK revealed in its report.

Michelle Mitchell, CEO of CRUK