Cancer Referral To Treatment Period

A Cancer Referral To Treatment Period is a REFERRAL TO TREATMENT PERIOD.

The service standard for referral to treatment for cancer is that the PATIENT  must receive First Definitive Treatment  within 62 days (or 31 days for Acute Leukaemia, testicular, and children's cancers), rather than within 18 Weeks.

A PATIENT will have a Cancer Referral To Treatment Period in the following circumstances:

• The PATIENT  was referred to secondary care with suspected cancer by a GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER  or GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONER, where the  PRIORITY TYPE  is National Code  'Two Week Wait'

• The PATIENT  was referred to secondary care and cancer was not initially suspected, but was subsequently diagnosed, and the PATIENT was referred on to an appropriate specialist

A Cancer Referral To Treatment Period is the period of time between CANCER REFERRAL TO TREATMENT PERIOD START DATE and either the:

• TREATMENT START DATE (CANCER)

  , where a PATIENT diagnosed with a cancer condition receives First Definitive Treatment

• CANCER FASTER DIAGNOSIS PATHWAY END DATE

   where a PATIENT  referred with suspected cancer by a  GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER  or GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONER  has cancer ruled out

• Date the PATIENT declines First Definitive Treatment, or

• Date that Active Monitoring (as a  First Definitive Treatment) starts.

A Cancer Referral To Treatment Period does NOT complete automatically if the PATIENT does not attend the first APPOINTMENT  during the Cancer Referral To Treatment Period.  WAITING TIME ADJUSTMENT (FIRST SEEN)  is used to align waiting times monitoring with the service standard for 18 Weeks.