The annual cost of breast cancer to the UK economy could rise by up to 31% to £4.2 billion in 2050, a new report, published by cross-party think tank Demos and leading research and support charity Breast Cancer Now has revealed.[1]
‘The Cost of Breast Cancer: 2025 Update’ - coming two years after Demos and Breast Cancer Now first revealed the shocking cost of breast cancer - exposes a worsening situation, with the scale of the challenge in tackling this devastating disease and urgent need for action growing, and sets out that breast cancer is already costing the UK economy £3.2-£3.5 billion in 2025.
The economic figures represent costs to the NHS of diagnosis and treatment and the costs to society in terms of loss of productivity of both the patient and any informal carers; and the individual costs that people bear, such as ‘out of pocket’ expenses.
The report also highlights that wellbeing costs associated with breast cancer remain six times higher than estimated economic costs - projected to hit £24.5 billion in 2050, rising from £20.2 billion in 2025.[2] These costs reflect the true human impact for anyone affected by breast cancer - all too often overlooked. From costs incurred through reduced quality of life and early death, to the impact on carers, partners and children.
Crucially, updated evidence and modelling now allows Demos and Breast Cancer Now to demonstrate how improving breast screening uptake and addressing health inequalities could address the severe human and financial impacts of breast cancer in the UK. This follows Breast Cancer Now’s #NoTimeToWaste campaigns in England and Wales calling for action to improve breast screening uptake, including in underserved groups.[3]
Improving NHS breast screening uptake to the achievable target of 80% across the UK could generate an estimated £158-£185 million in economic savings and £1.6 billion in wellbeing gains in 2025.[4]
Action to tackle devastating health inequalities in breast cancer diagnosis could potentially save around 2,000 lives a year in ethnic minority communities and 3,200 lives a year in the most deprived areas. The economic benefit would also be significant, saving £180-£250 million and £327–£389 million respectively in 2025.[5]
Breast Cancer Now is now calling on UK governments and policymakers to work with the charity and its supporters to urgently implement measures to improve the lives of those impacted by breast cancer and reduce the burden of financial costs for the NHS and the UK economy, including by tackling low screening uptake rates and reducing health inequalities.
This report comes just ahead of the charity launching its new strategy which sets out how over the next five years they will make game-changing differences to people’s lives across diagnosis, treatment, care and support and reduce inequity to achieve their vision that by 2050, everyone with breast cancer will live and live well.
Claire Rowney, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now said:
“Breast cancer is so far from a done deal. Our new report exposes the growing scale of the problem, and the human and economic prices being paid - with far too many lives tragically being lost to this devastating disease.
“Great strides have been made in tackling breast cancer over past decades, but it still devastates thousands of lives in the UK each day – with people facing long anxious waits for a diagnosis or vital lifesaving treatment, or being denied the life-extending drugs they need. And around 11,500 people die from breast cancer each year in the UK.
“This report sets out loud and clear the huge challenges in tackling breast cancer and the dire consequences we’ll face unless urgent action is taken now to save more lives from the disease and give everyone an equal chance of the best diagnosis, treatment and care.
“We’re calling on governments and policymakers across the UK to work with Breast Cancer Now and our supporters to urgently implement measures we know will improve the lives of those impacted by breast cancer – including tackling low breast screening uptake rates and reducing health inequalities. Measures that will also bring about much-needed cost savings to the NHS and UK economy.
“The upcoming National Cancer Plan in England is a crucial opportunity to deliver real, sustainable change for people with breast cancer and drive radical improvements in detection, treatment and care; we stand ready to work with the UK government and NHS to make this happen. We’ve been making change happen for over 50 years and remain relentless in our focus on realising our vision that by 2050, everyone with breast cancer will live and live well.”
Lucy Bush, Director of Research & Participation at Demos said:
“This paper is part of an ongoing series of work by Demos making the case for a more preventative state - one that shifts from firefighting mode to catching problems earlier or, even better, preventing problems before they develop. We see a double dividend to taking a preventative approach - both in the scale of human suffering that can be avoided and in the spiralling cost of public services that can be reduced.
“We have been working with Breast Cancer Now since 2023 to model the impact of breast cancer and our analysis provides crucial evidence of the economic and wellbeing benefits of early diagnosis and treatment. In the context of the NHS 10 Year Plan for Health announcing a shift ‘from disease cure to disease prevention’ this paper comes at a timely juncture. It helps draw attention to the massive opportunity we have to reduce the impact of this devastating disease on our country.
“Our work sheds a particular light on the difference that could be made by focussing on improving outcomes for ethnic minority and low-income groups. The disparity we see in the survival rates between different demographic groups is simply unacceptable and the uplift in wellbeing savings demonstrates what the ultimate prize would be - a reduction in the suffering and early deaths of thousands of people.”
Danielle Blakesley, 38, from Ilminster, was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2022 aged 34, when her sons were 6 and 9, after finding a lump while in the shower. She had a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and is currently taking tamoxifen to help reduce the risk of the cancer returning. She has not been able to return to her job as deputy supervisor nursery nurse and head special educational needs co-ordinator lead due to long-term side effects of treatment. She said:
“My breast cancer diagnosis was a massive shock. It affected all parts of my life and has taken a toll on the whole family, including my two boys. I could see their pain when I told them and they now suffer with panic attacks and separation anxiety. I’ve been grieving who I once was before my diagnosis, able to be a part of so many things.
“I didn’t realise how intense treatment would be. After the third round of chemotherapy I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t see how my body was going to get through it. I’ve had side effects like nerve damage to my feet and joint pain and issues.
“Even now I struggle when I try to do normal things. Just keeping up with my boys can take its toll. I get short of breath when I try to exercise. I was keen to go back to a job that I loved after treatment, but I haven’t been able to due to my fatigue, joint pain and limited mobility. My emotional and mental health has changed dramatically since treatment. I’m trying to live my life but I just have no focus, spark or confidence.
“Last year was all about healing and I think this year so far, it’s about acceptance. I’m putting my time into spreading important awareness far and wide about breast cancer and being breast aware.”
Read ‘The Cost of Breast Cancer: 2025 Update’ report at breastcancernow.org/cost2025
ENDS
For further information, to receive a copy of the report, or to arrange media interviews with spokespeople and case studies, please contact press@breastcancernow.org / 07436 107 914
Notes to editor
Demos have created a model that estimates the economic costs to the UK economy of breast cancer now and up until 2050, as compared to a world without breast cancer. These figures represent actual amounts of money in the economy that may be spent, saved, gained or lost depending on the policy environment.
This model uses breast cancer incidence data from each UK nation for 2022/23, broken down by stage and age. The Cancer Research UK projection for breast cancer incidence into future years is used. The model also uses the latest published screening and incidence data for the four nations as of August 2025. Demos has updated all variables for current price terms (in 2025 prices), including NHS costs, wages and labour market statistics for lost productivity.
Where possible UK data has been used, though in some cases English-only data is available and so it has been pro-rated to cover the whole of the UK, using the regional distribution of breast cancer incidence.
[1] The updated model reveals that in 2025 the cost of breast cancer to the UK economy will be £3.2-£3.5 billion. The model shows that if no mitigating actions or policy interventions are put in place, by 2050 we are looking at a yearly cost to the economy of £3.8-£4.2 billion, in current prices.
The economic costs in 2050 are calculated by taking the latest year we have full data for, 2022/223 and using a combination of incidence data and existing research projecting the increase in costs to 2050. The costs mainly fall to the NHS and the wider UK economy through loss of labour productivity with both patients and carers costs included. A 31% increase has been calculated using the £3.2bn figure in the estimated range of the cost of breast cancer to the UK economy of £3.2-£3.5bn in 2025, rising to £4.2 billion by 2050.
[2] Wellbeing costs are calculated by ascribing a standardised monetary value to the loss of wellbeing – the extensive emotional turmoil experienced - or the loss of ‘years lived’ that people with breast cancer, and their family and friends, experience.
[4] Increasing this screening uptake by just under ten percentage points from the current average screening uptake from across the UK at 70.05%, sets out an economic saving in today’s figures of between £158-£185 million in 2025. The corresponding wellbeing saving now stands at £1.6 billion.
|
Nation |
Latest screening rate (% published at Aug 25) |
Economic Saving (£mn) |
Wellbeing saving (£mn) |
|
England |
70.0 |
133-155 |
1,339 |
|
Wales |
69.5 |
8-9 |
78 |
|
Scotland |
75.9 |
14-16 |
136 |
|
Northern Ireland |
74.0 |
4 |
35 |
|
UK |
70.05 |
158-185 |
1,588 |
[5] These two scenarios focussing on levelling up health inequalities seen between the lowest and highest deprived areas of the UK and different ethnic groups, show the massive impact that targeting resources and efforts could have. There is likely to be some overlap between the groups – but we can see how improvements in screening rates, survival rates and care could make a large impact for ethnic minority women in highly deprived areas of the UK.
About Breast Cancer Now
If you’re experiencing breast cancer we’re here, whenever you need us. Be it through our support services, trusted breast cancer information or our specialist nurses who you can reach via our free Helpline and 24/7 Online Forum. Backed by dedicated campaigners, we’re fighting for the best possible treatment, services, and care, for anyone affected by breast cancer. And support from our amazing fundraisers helps ensure our life-saving research and life-changing support can happen.
If you’re worried about breast cancer, or have a question about breast health, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Speak to our expert nurses now by calling our free Helpline on 0808 800 6000 or visit forum.breastcancernow.org
About Demos
Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank and a registered independent charity. Demos produces original and innovative research across four areas of focus; collaborative democracy, public service reform, trustworthy technology and citizen’s economy.
This research falls under Demos’s Citizen’s Economy workstream, which generates evidence and policy recommendations to advance “good growth” – where people, businesses, charities and government work together for universal benefit.