Worried about cancer
The aim for all healthcare services in the UK is to have a diagnosis and start treatment for cancer as soon as possible.
Although there are targets, it’s not possible to say how long it will take in your situation. Ask your GP or your specialist (if you have one). They may be able to give you an idea about waiting times for your area.
Getting a diagnosis of cancer can sometimes take a while. It might feel that you are waiting too long. This can be frustrating and difficult to cope with. Most people will wait for appointments, tests and results. It is important to have all this information for your healthcare team to plan the best treatment for you.
Waiting for tests or treatment can be worrying. You may be concerned that the cancer is growing during this time. Many cancers grow slowly, but your healthcare team will make sure you have your tests and treatment as soon as possible.
The different UK nations have their own targets around:
referral for suspected cancer
waiting times to a diagnosis
waiting times to start treatment
This video explains the different cancer waiting times in England. It is 1 minute and 20 seconds long.
Your GP, dentist, or nurse will arrange your referral to see a hospital doctor (specialist), or to have tests. They should tell you if this is an urgent suspected cancer referral. An urgent referral can be worrying. But it is important to remember that more than 9 in every 10 people (more than 90% of people) referred this way will not have a diagnosis of cancer.
In England, an urgent referral used to mean that you should see a specialist within 2 weeks. From October 2023, this 2-week target was replaced by the Faster Diagnosis standard (see below). This was part of wider changes to NHS cancer waiting times. GPs will continue to make urgent referrals for people with symptoms that could be caused by cancer.
GPs have guidelines to help them decide who needs to be referred for further tests or to see a specialist. They use these as well as their judgement and experience. The guidelines recommend that some symptoms need more urgent action than other symptoms. For example, some people who are very unwell with suspected leukaemia need a referral within a few hours or a couple of days. Some people with suspected lung cancer need to have a chest x-ray within 2 weeks.
If your GP refers you for tests or to see a specialist, you should have these as soon as possible. Ask your GP when this is likely to be. Contact your GP practice if you don’t get your appointment within this time. It's important that you attend your appointment. If you can't attend for any reason, contact the hospital as soon as you can to rearrange it.
Read more about an urgent referral
A specialist may need to do a variety of tests to decide on a diagnosis. Sometimes you might have these tests before you see the specialist. You might have a taken of any abnormal areas.
If they diagnose cancer, you may then need further tests. This is to get as much information about the cancer as possible.
For example, your specialist might arrange a scan such as a , or . This helps them to work out the stage of the cancer. The stage of the cancer refers to the size and whether it has spread. This helps your healthcare team to decide which treatment is best for you.
You might have to wait for an appointment for some of these tests. This could be because of the high number of people needing certain tests and scans. People who need urgent tests are usually given priority.
Some types of specialised tests are only available in larger hospitals. So you might need to go to another hospital for your tests, which can increase the length of time you wait.
A specialist doctor examines your scans and writes a report. If you have a biopsy, the tissue is sent to a laboratory. A examines the tissue under a microscope.
A team of doctors and other healthcare professionals will meet to discuss your diagnosis and the best treatment for you. They are called a multidisciplinary team (MDT). Your cancer specialist will then explain the results to you. It usually takes a couple of weeks to get your results.
Waiting for results can make you anxious. Ask your specialist to give you an idea of how long your test results are likely to take. You can ring their secretary or your specialist nurse if you have not heard anything after a couple of weeks.
Read about the different cancer tests
In England, the NHS has a target called the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS). The target is that you should not wait more than 28 days from referral to finding out whether you have cancer or not. The FDS applies to anyone with a suspected cancer, even if you have been treated for cancer in the past.
The FDS is part of a wider NHS England plan to focus more on the speed that someone gets their results and diagnosis. It applies to those people who are referred:
by their GP for suspected cancer
by their GP with breast symptoms where cancer is not suspected
following an abnormal screening result from a cancer screening test
There are 3 screening programmes to help find cancer early:
breast cancer:
bowel cancer:
cervical screening
The NHS is slowly rolling out a new lung cancer screening programme for people at high risk of lung cancer.
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales do not have a Faster Diagnosis Standard target.
There are waiting time targets to start treatment.
In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland the current targets are:
no more than 2 months (62 days) wait between the date the hospital receives an urgent suspected cancer referral and the start of treatment
no more than 31 days wait between the date you and your doctor agree the treatment plan and the start of treatment
In May 2019 Wales introduced the Suspected Cancer Pathway. You might also hear this called the single cancer pathway. This combines all urgent and non urgent referrals into one target time of 62 days or less. This means, that when cancer is first suspected, everyone should have a confirmed diagnosis and start treatment within 62 days. The time that cancer is first suspected could be for example:
when you first see your GP and they refer you to a specialist or to have tests
when you have an abnormal result as part of a screening appointment
when you are in hospital in a ward or in the Accident & Emergency (A&E) department
NHS England has a waiting time target for cancer that has come back (a recurrence). You should start treatment within 31 days. This time starts from the meeting in which you and your doctor have agreed your treatment plan.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not have a specific target for a recurrence. Your healthcare team aims to start your treatment as quickly as possible.
In some situations, your doctor may diagnose a new instead of a . If so, you should wait no more than 2 months (62 days) to start treatment. This time starts on the date that the hospital has received an urgent suspected cancer referral.
You might need extra tests before your doctor can confirm your diagnosis or plan your treatment. This can mean waiting a little longer.
Waiting times can vary depending on the type of cancer and the type of treatment you are going to have.
Speak to your specialist or nurse if you are worried about waiting for treatment. They can explain why there is a wait and answer any questions you have.
Go to the cancer types section for information about treatment for different types of cancer
Last reviewed: 09 Oct 2026
Next review due: 09 Oct 2029
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