Speeding up diagnosis of cancer can save lives
More tests in GP surgeries will cut waiting times for patients’ results
REVOLUTIONARY new research is aiming to cut the waiting time for cancer test results and help GPs give patients a faster diagnosis.
The CanTest project, which is being supported with £5million of funding from Cancer Research UK, will explore how GPs can carry out more cancer tests themselves to speed up results, reducing what can be a long and worrying wait for patients.
Dr Fiona Walter, a lead researcher from the University of Cambridge working on the CanTest project, said: “For patients, CanTest could mean that GPs can diagnose cancer in their surgery, or quickly reassure patients if there’s nothing seriously wrong.
“If they are unable to confirm a diagnosis, it could mean doctors can refer patients to the most appropriate medical professional in the hospital faster.
“The earlier we diagnose cancer, the more treatment options there are and the more successful they’re likely to be, so ultimately it’s about helping more people survive.” Helping GPs is just one example of how Cancer Research UK is investing in early diagnosis. The charity also offers advice and information on cancer screening, which can save lives by finding cancers at an early stage. Research and campaigning has helped bring bowel cancer screening to millions of people across the UK.
Cervical and some types of bowel cancer screening can even prevent the disease by treating changes before they become cancerous.
Cancer screening is meant for healthy people with no symptoms and looks for early signs of cancer. Spotting cancers early means treatment is more likely to be successful. For some of the most common cancers, survival at one-year is more than double when diagnosed at it’s earliest stage compared to the latest stage.
Another important aspect of early detection is knowing what’s normal for your body so you’re more likely to spot something different. If you do notice any unusual changes that don’t go away, make sure you see your GP. There is still much to be done to give more patients good news, including tackling cancers that are hard to diagnose at the early stages, such as oesophageal and pancreatic cancers.
Detecting these cancers earlier could have a huge impact on survival.
Detecting the disease early gives a greater chance of survival DR FIONA WALKER ON THE CANTEST PROJECT