Lockdown's collateral cancer timebomb: 40 THOUSAND tumours were 'missed' during first year of Covid pandemic - the equivalent of one ev

1. Just 290,000 people in England were told they had cancer in 2020, down by a tenth on one year earlier

2. It marks the biggest drop logged since records began 50 years ago — and lowest number logged in a decade

3. fewer Britons daily were told they had cancer but experts fear the figure is just the 'tip of the iceberg'

4. The NHS prioritising Covid care and a lack of in-person appointments have all been blamed for the downturn

Almost 40,000 cancers went undiagnosed during the first year of Covid, according to official statistics which lay bare the 'true and catastrophic impact' of the pandemic.

Just 290,000 people in England were told they had cancer in 2020, down by roughly a tenth on one year earlier — the biggest drop logged since records began half a century ago. It was also the fewest annual diagnoses in a decade.

It means 100 fewer Britons daily were told they had cancer, equating to one every 13 minutes — prompting fears of a cancer timebomb. Half of the missed tumours are thought to be prostate and breast cancers.

The NHS prioritising Covid care, a lack of in-person appointments and the public avoiding the health service due to fear of catching the virus or adding to NHS pressures have all been blamed for the downturn.

Top experts today warned the figure is just the 'tip of the iceberg' as the backlog in diagnosis is 'still present and actually growing', with tens of thousands facing 'agonising' delays.

Continued Covid disruption means more Britons are living with missed and untreated serious cancers, which will cause cancer deaths to shoot up within years, doctors warned.

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I just recently lost a kidney to cancer.