Half of adults unaware of key blood cancer symptoms, poll reveals

MORE than half of adults cannot name a single symptom of blood cancer, a survey has revealed, amid fears the typical signs of the disease are being mistaken for Covid.

The poll, released today by Blood Cancer UK, found just one per cent of adults were able to correctly identify fever and three per cent identified breathlessness as signs of the disease.

The charity warned these key symptoms could be confused with coronavirus and left undiagnosed Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, more than half (56 per cent) could not name a common sign of blood cancer, up from 52 per cent of respondents from 2018.

Blood Cancer UK said it was unclear why this number had risen but added it was “really concerning” that the figures showed no improvement in awareness of the disease since 2018. Around 40,000 diagnoses and 15,000 deaths of blood cancer occur every year in the UK. Estimates suggest 250,000 people are currently living with the disease.

Kate Keightley, head of support services at Blood Cancer UK, said: “Sadly, symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss and night sweats can sometimes be dismissed or downplayed and the result can be devastating. During the height of the pandemic, we saw far fewer people being diagnosed with blood cancer, and one of the reasons for this could be that some of the symptoms of blood cancer are easily mistaken for Covid. It’s extremely worrying that public awareness that these could be signs of blood cancer continues to be so low.”

The most common symptoms of coronavirus are fever, a new and continuous cough and change to your sense of taste and smell. Studies have also shown that fatigue is often experienced.

Respondents’ knowledge of other symptoms remained roughly the same since 2018, the survey found, with fewer than a third (30 per cent) knowing that fatigue was a common symptom. Around one in 10 identified bruises and weight loss as signs, while just two per cent noted infections, and 1 per cent being aware lumps and night sweats, are symptoms.

The charity added that it was concerned the coronavirus pandemic had deterred people from going to their GP and this was impacting their chances of early diagnosis.

“If you have symptoms that cannot be explained and are persistent, you should urgently make an appointment with your GP. While it is unlikely to be anything serious, it’s so important to get checked out,” Ms Keightley said.

Symptoms can vary between patients, but some of the most common signs of blood cancer are: persistent and unexplained tiredness, unexplained weight loss, unexplained bruising and/ or bleeding, persistent infections, bone and joint pain, and breathlessness.