I was delighted to meet with Blood Cancer UK in Parliament to lend my support to their 2024 Action Plan.

Blood Cancer UK, a charity that has been at the forefront of the fight to beat blood cancer, has an extraordinary history. Since the 1960s, they have invested over half a billion pounds in blood cancer research. Their contributions have transformed treatment and, critically, saved countless lives. Yet despite these monumental advances, the battle is far from over.

The latest initiative—the UK Blood Cancer Action Plan—is a landmark moment in this ongoing struggle. The reality is stark: far too many people are still dying from blood cancer, and the UK is falling behind other nations in terms of research, outcomes, and survival rates.

The findings of this new report are both alarming and sobering. Over the past decade, over one million potential years of life have been lost to blood cancer in the UK alone. Worse still, survival rates in the UK are now lagging behind other comparable countries. These statistics are not just numbers—they represent lives cut short, families devastated, and futures lost. What’s more, they point to profound disparities in care and survival depending on where you live, your background, or your ethnicity.

If every individual diagnosed with blood cancer in England had access to the same standard of care as the top 20% most advantaged, we could avoid some 650 deaths every year. This is an injustice, and it is one that we can and must address.

The UK Blood Cancer Action Plan sets out a clear and credible path to change. With 17 ambitious yet realistic recommendations for all four governments of the UK, this report touches on every critical aspect of the blood cancer journey—workforce, diagnosis, care, clinical trials, treatment, and data. The recommendations come from the leading experts in the field: healthcare professionals, researchers, and most importantly, people living with blood cancer. This is a roadmap that gives us the tools to create a future where every person, regardless of their background, has the best possible chance of survival.

We owe it to the individuals, families, and communities affected by blood cancer to ensure this plan is enacted. By investing in research, improving the training and resources available to our health professionals, and addressing the deep-rooted inequalities in our healthcare system, we can start to turn the tide. Blood cancer does not discriminate—but sadly, our health outcomes do. It is time for us to change that.

I am proud to support the UK Blood Cancer Action Plan and Blood Cancer UK in their relentless pursuit of a world free from this devastating disease. Together, we can make it happen.