A written second opinion on your cancer diagnosis from the multidisciplinary team of a large Chinese hospital

In England, the standard is that 85% of patients start their first treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral for suspected cancer. In July 2026, 71.2% did (NHS England, provisional), and the standard has not been met since December 2015. Within 31 days of a decision to treat, 92.5% started treatment against a 96% target. In Scotland, 73.6% started within 62 days in the quarter to June 2026, against a 95% standard. In Wales, 60.7% did in December 2025, against an 80% target. Your own wait depends on your cancer type and your hospital, and your care team can tell you what to expect.

Canadian cancer waits are short compared with other specialties. The median wait from being ready to treat to a first radiation treatment was 13 days in 2025, and 90% started within 22 days (CIHI). Median waits for cancer surgery in 2023 were 22 days for breast, 23 for colorectal, 26 for lung, 28 for bladder and 52 for prostate (CIHI). From GP referral to treatment, radiation oncology and medical oncology had the shortest waits of any specialty in 2025, at 4.2 and 4.7 weeks (Fraser Institute). For most people in Canada, a second opinion is about a second view of the diagnosis and options, not about speed.

At the end of 2023, China had 164 cancer specialist hospitals, 43 of them with 800 or more beds, and large general hospitals also have oncology departments, with 290,898 oncology beds across all institutions (China Health Statistics Yearbook). In 2024 Shanghai designated 13 public hospitals for an international medical tourism pilot. For a second opinion, the hospital depends on your type of cancer, and we tell you its name before anything is sent.

There is no single price, because it depends on the cancer, the treatment and the hospital. Some published reference prices: domestic PD-1 inhibitors at CNY 2,101–2,928 (≈ USD 310–440) per vial on the national reimbursement list (2019–21); CAR-T at CNY 1,200,000 (≈ USD 179,100) to about CNY 1,290,000 (≈ USD 192,550) per infusion; and proton therapy at mostly CNY 260,000–270,000 (≈ USD 38,800–40,300) per course (2024). A foreign patient pays in full without Chinese insurance, and hospitals quote each case individually. Chinese hospitals do not publish a price for a written second opinion for overseas patients, so we tell you the fee for your case before anything is sent.

Yes. Several CAR-T products are approved in China, and all five that applied were placed on the 2025 list of innovative drugs for commercial insurance issued by China’s National Healthcare Security Administration. One product is priced at CNY 1,200,000 (≈ USD 179,100) per infusion and another at just under CNY 1,300,000 (≈ USD 194,050), and commercial CAR-T prices in China have stayed at CNY 1,000,000 (≈ USD 149,250) or above (Chinese media, 2021–26). In the US, 2025 wholesale prices for CAR-T products ranged from USD 462,000 to 593,533. Whether CAR-T is relevant to a particular person depends on the cancer type and previous treatment, which is a question for doctors who have the full records.

Nine proton therapy centres were operating in mainland China at the end of 2024. Counting Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, 24 proton therapy projects were in use in June 2026, with 9 more under construction or awaiting use (industry media). Most mainland centres charged CNY 260,000–270,000 (≈ USD 38,800–40,300) per course in 2024, with a range of CNY 170,000–295,000 (≈ USD 25,350–44,050). Whether proton therapy is suitable for a particular cancer is a medical decision for your doctors.