This leukaemia complication is being overlooked – Britain urgently needs NHS change

A leukaemia diagnosis is life-changing, not only in the physical sense, but emotionally too. Yet for too many, the psychological impact is overlooked or under-supported. At Leukaemia Care, we know only too well that the emotional impact can linger long after treatment ends. In fact, in 2024 alone, we saw a 60% rise in demand for our counselling service, delivering more than 500 sessions to people struggling with anxiety, depression and isolation.

From patients on an ‘active monitoring’ pathway to carers and families, emotional wellbeing must be treated with the same urgency as physical recovery. Mental health matters, and for people living with leukaemia, it can be the difference between simply surviving and truly living. And here, we place great emphasis on enabling the latter.

We see the impact every day. People living in limbo, facing not just the uncertainty of leukaemia, but the emotional toll of feeling invisible. It’s why I believe we urgently need a radical shift in how we support cancer patients.

That starts with giving every patient a holistic needs assessment and personal care plan, ideally before or at the start of treatment. These are not tick-box exercises; they are the foundation of compassionate, joined-up care.

Our data supports this, in that over half of patients on an 'active monitoring’ pathway have an increased feeling of anxiety or depression, yet we find from those we support that there is little emotional support available to them once diagnosed.

Patients with diagnoses like ALL and CML are among those reporting the highest levels of emotional distress, with 6% feeling constantly anxious or depressed.

But we know that the right support changes lives. In 2024, counselling uptake rose by 33%, and outcomes improved dramatically, with twice as many people reporting feeling less anxious and less isolated, and one person a week was able to complete their support sessions and move forward with renewed strength.

Let’s not forget the link between financial pressure and mental health either. A 20% increase in demand for our welfare service highlights just how interwoven money worries are with emotional wellbeing. One in three people diagnosed with leukaemia were no longer able to work or study - that’s a life changed in more ways than one.

We also saw the power of peer support in action, with more than 200 people helped by our buddy volunteer service, demand for which rose by nearly 50% year-on-year. Whether it’s counselling, clear information, or someone who simply understands, our message remains that emotional support is not a luxury, It’s a lifeline.

And it’s not just patients, Macmillan states that two-thirds of carers experience anxiety, and 42% face depression, yet more than 75% receive no psychological support. They are often the emotional anchor in a family, holding everything together while holding in their own fears.

For more than 50 years, Leukaemia Care has been dedicated to ensuring that everyone affected by a leukaemia diagnosis receives the best possible information, advice, treatment and support. We’ve stood alongside patients and their families through the most difficult of times and we’ve seen first-hand how holistic, person-centred care can change lives.

But we cannot do it alone. Charities like ours can fill gaps, raise awareness, and push for better but the responsibility for consistent, high-quality mental health support should not rest on fundraising alone.

It’s time for the health system to step up and ensure that emotional wellbeing is embedded into the cancer care pathway from day one. Every patient deserves support that reflects the full reality of their experience, not just the clinical side.

This is why we are supporting the Daily Express's Cancer Care campaign to ensure all cancer patients have mental health support both during and after treatment.

Until that happens, we will keep campaigning, because living with cancer shouldn’t come at the cost of your mental health.