Undiagnosed cancers ‘ticking time bomb’
THE UK faces a “ticking time bomb” of undiagnosed and untreated cancer, with nearly 2,000 people a week going undiagnosed due to Covid-19 fears in hospitals and GP surgeries, a charity has warned.
Macmillan Cancer Support said the disease risks becoming “the forgotten ‘C’” of the coronavirus pandemic, with evidence of patients having appointments cancelled or postponed, while others awaiting possible diagnosis say they are put off attending hospitals due to concerns about contracting the virus.
It follows a study from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, that suggested putting off cancer surgeries for three months could lead to almost 5,000 excess deaths in England alone. And a survey of 100 cancer patients who support Macmillan’s campaigning work showed almost half (45%) had seen their cancer treatment delayed, cancelled or changed as a result of coronavirus.
Steven McIntosh, Macmillan Cancer Support policy director, told the PA news agency: “We’ve seen a very worrying drop in the number of people coming forward with suspected cancer symptoms to be referred for diagnosis by their GPs.
“We estimate that disruptions to GP referrals–screeningprogrammes–could mean as many as 1,900 cases of cancer a week are currently going undiagnosed.
“That’s why we’re warning that the size of this ticking time bomb is deeply worrying for people who are living with cancer, but also for storing up huge problems for the NHS in trying to diagnose and treat cancer, when we have also seen significant disruption to cancer surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.”
Macmillan is calling on the Government to set out clear plans for restoring cancer care that clarify how cancer patients will have access to timely diagnosis and treatment, with surge capacity to catch up on the backlog of care coronavirus has caused.
An NHS spokesman said “vital tests and treatments are going ahead in a safe way for thousands of patients”, saying it had introduced Covidprotected cancer hubs, and that almost 30,000 people began treatment in March – the highest monthly number on record.
He added: “The NHS has now set out guidance so that hospitals can further increase the number of cancer tests and treatments they carry out, as well as having the extra capacity to treat future coronavirus patients, so our message to anyone worried about symptoms is: help us help you, and seek help as you always would.”
Mr McIntosh said: “It’s so important that we send out a strong message to the public: you’ve got to come forward with cancer symptoms, and that governments demonstrate we have cancer care back on track, being delivered safely.
“We need to catch up with treatment so that we don’t see a serious spike in cancer deaths.”
The charity saw a rise in demand for a number of its services and has launched new virtual ones – such as telephone buddying and an online health and wellbeing offer – to prevent people with cancer from falling through the cracks.