More than 1,000 people have signed up to a government-funded study looking at whether radiotherapy for breast cancer can be safely shortened from three weeks to five days, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. The FAST-Forward Boost trial is running at 39 hospitals around the UK and will examine a shorter course of treatment combined with an extra targeted dose, known as a boost, to help stop the disease coming back. If the approach works, patients could be spared around 10 trips to hospital.
Key points
- Trial — testing five-day radiotherapy instead of three weeks at 39 UK hospitals.
- Adviser — Ashley Dalton MP, who has metastatic breast cancer, will advise on the National Cancer Plan.
- Screening — first-time uptake has reached 63.6%, but around four in 10 invited women do not attend.
The milestone comes as Ashley Dalton MP, who is living with metastatic breast cancer, was appointed as an adviser on delivering the National Cancer Plan, so that patients' experiences inform decisions about care. She stood down as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention on 2 March 2026 to manage her health and the side effects of treatment. Ms Dalton said it was "a real honour" to take the role and that she wanted to use her experiences to support the plan's commitment that by 2035, three out of four people diagnosed with cancer will be cancer free or living well with cancer after five years.
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month ends, figures show more women are accepting their first breast screening invitation than at any point in the past decade, with uptake at 63.6%. Around four in 10 women invited for the first time still do not go. Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper urged women who receive an invitation to take up the "potentially life-saving offer". She said the trial showed the UK using its research strengths to pursue major improvements in cancer treatment, and that Ms Dalton's personal experience would help ensure the plan reflects the realities of people living with cancer.
Professor Lucy Chappell, chief executive of the National Institute for Health and Care Research and chief scientific adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care, said the organisation had invested in studies like the trial for 20 years. She said such research was crucial not only for identifying new treatment options that can be delivered swiftly and safely, but also for minimising side effects and giving patients more time away from hospitals.
What it means in practice
For most people in Britain, nothing changes this week: the shorter radiotherapy course is still being tested, so patients currently offered treatment should follow the schedule their clinical team gives them. The screening figures are the part that touches daily life, because a first invitation is easy to put off and around four in 10 women invited for the first time do not attend.
- Check your post — if a screening invitation arrives, book it rather than leaving it in a pile; uptake is rising but many first-time invitees still stay away.
- Watch the trial — if the five-day course proves safe and effective, future patients could face far fewer hospital trips, which matters for travel, time off work and family care.
- Plan discussions — the National Cancer Plan is being shaped with patient input, so anyone living with cancer can raise what would make care easier to manage.
