The health condition people now fear more than cancer

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As progress continues in the treatment of cancer, another illness is causing family carers concern

Bryony GoochSunday 30 November 2025 15:37 GMTComments

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Dementia has become Britain's biggest health fear, overtaking cancer, according to new research.

Around 31 per cent of family carers fear dementia, a four per cent increase from last year, while concerns around cancer dropped from 30 per cent to 21 per cent in the same amount of time, according to Home Instead.

The at-home care provider surveyed 4,000 people, including 1,600 family carers, over the course of a year in a study tracking the country’s feelings around ageing and care.

Almost two thirds of those surveyed (63 per cent) called for the government to declare dementia a health emergency as the disease takes a growing toll on families, according to the research. Almost 90 per cent of carers called for a dedicated dementia allowance to help fund care.

Home Instead chief executive Martin Jones said: “Dementia has now eclipsed cancer as our greatest health fear for the future. Unlike cancer, where decades of research have shifted perceptions and care outcomes, dementia feels like a greater threat - a condition with no cure in sight.”

While cancer remains the leading cause of death in the UK, and nearly one in two Brits will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetimes, scientists continue to make process in treating and curing cancer.

Every three minutes, someone in the UK develops dementia (PA) (PA Archive)

Cancer survival in the UK has doubled in the past 50 years, according to Cancer Research UK. Meanwhile, dementia remains incurable and every three minutes someone in the UK develops it, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.

David Thomas, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, told The Telegraph: “We are at a tipping point for dementia research, but we need the government to be more ambitious in tackling what is the UK’s biggest killer.

“Blood tests for Alzheimer’s are being trialled in parts of the NHS and more new drugs are being researched than ever before. These innovations have the potential to help us really get a grip on dementia and make the sort of progress we’ve seen with other conditions, like stroke and cancer.”

As dementia is caused by different diseases, it is unlikely that there will be a single cure for it, according to the NHS website.

“Huge strides have been made in understanding how different diseases cause damage in the brain and so produce dementia. And with increased funding over the past few years, there are now many more research studies and clinical trials taking place,” a statement on the website reads.

“Although a cure may be some years away, there are some very promising advances.”

Last October, Donanemab, a drug which can slow down the decline in memory and thinking skills of people living with early Alzheimer’s disease, was licensed in the UK as a private treatment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its final guidance, where its recommendation remains that donanemab not be provided through the NHS because it did not meet the cost effectiveness threshold.