Patients suffering needless delays in cancer diagnosis
ONE in four cancer patients have experienced a delay to their diagnosis that could have been avoided, a study suggests today.
Long waiting times for tests and vague symptoms that GPs might not immediately recognise were among the reasons why patients were diagnosed late.
After analysing 14,300 people diagnosed with cancer in England in 2014, Cancer Research UK has revealed that 3,400 had experienced an unnecessary hold up.
Analyst Ruth Swann from the charity said: “Our research shows there’s a good opportunity to significantly reduce delays by cutting the time it takes for patients to have tests done.
“We need to evaluate new diagnostic tests for patients with vague symptoms and a better way to manage them.”
More than 363,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK.This is predicted to rise to more than 500,000 by 2035 – one person every minute.
The data showed the majority of delays happened while the patient was being assessed by their GP surgery.
Complicated
Cancer Research UK said the reasons for delays were complex, but included a shortage of staff to perform diagnostic tests.
The charity’s director of early diagnosis, Sara Hiom, said: “Trying to find cancer in people with a range of symptoms and other conditions is very complicated. While doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to see patients quickly, the NHS experiencing a staffing crisis.”
Also from the charity, Dr Richard Roope added: “We see patients with a huge variety of symptoms. It can be difficult to decide when to check for cancer.
“Being a GP can be like working in the dark, with limited access to diagnostics, and sometimes we look back and think we could have done things differently.”
Professor Martin Marshall, of the Royal College of GPs, said it had been calling for many years for GPs to have better access to diagnostic tests in the community.
The NHS said: “This report is based on data from 2014 and does not reflect significant improvements in care and treatment.
“The NHS carried out 2.2 million checks last year – the most ever – and cancer survival is at a record high.” is
YOUNG people should have their cholesterol checked and not wait until they are over 40 to reduce the risk of heart disease, a study found.
Early tests with a change of lifestyle or statins could prevent heart attacks and strokes 30 years later.
Co-author Professor Stefan Blankenberg, of Hamburg’s heart centre, said everyone should be checked at the age of 25 to 30. He said: “There’s one key message – cholesterol determination should be an obligation at a very young age.
“You need to enable these younger individuals to do something against the risk.” Current guidelines recommend tests for over-40s based on their weight or family history of heart problems.
Prof Sir Nilesh Samani, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Action at a much earlier stage may have a substantial benefit.”
The study of 400,000 people worldwide appeared in The Lancet.