Huge increase in cancer survivors

Macmillan Cancer Support, which commissioned the study, warned that health trusts' failure to provide resources for the long-term care of these patients was a "ticking time bomb".

Until now health charities have quoted findings from the early 1990s showing that the UK has 1.2 million people living with or after cancer.

Researchers from King's College London's Thames Cancer Registry examined disease data to calculate a new figure for cancer survivors.

They found the true number was now two million, and that the prevalence of cancer in England was currently increasing at a rate of 3.2% per year.

Macmillan Cancer Support used the release of the updated figures to call for better care to meet the long-term needs of those who have had cancer.

It wants health trusts and local authorities to provide a "comprehensive package of care" for all survivors, including emotional, financial and practical support as well as hospital treatment.

The charity said people living with cancer find it far harder to continue working and to carry out simple activities like housework and meeting friends. They are also more likely to need home visits from health workers.

Macmillan launched the new study amid concerns that official records were inaccurate and that health services were failing to acknowledge the long-term effects of cancer.

It warned that the number of survivors would grow "significantly" over the coming decade as cases of the disease rise and deaths fall.