Health leaders urge public to have symptoms checked on World Cancer Day

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS Clinical Director for Cancer Peter Johnson have called on the public to contact their GP if they have symptoms of cancer to coincide with World Cancer Day.

NHS staff continue to prioritise cancer surgery alongside COVID-19 treatment, to ensure treatment can continue safely where possible.

Although nearly 1.5 million people were urgently referred by their GP with suspected cancer between March and November 2020, the latest NHS data shows that fewer people are being referred for certain cancers because they are not seeking help.

This includes lung cancer and urological cancers, such as prostate cancer.

The earlier cancer is diagnosed, the more likely it is that treatment will be successful and save lives.

On the other hand, late diagnosis can require more urgent and intensive treatment, and can often lead to worse patient outcomes.

“This World Cancer Day we should come together to commit that diagnosing and treating cancer is a top priority,” said Hancock.

“If you notice any unusual symptoms which last more than a few weeks, however mild you think they might be, please come forward and discuss it with your GP. The sooner you speak to your GP, the sooner a diagnosis can be made, the sooner treatment can start, and the more lives we can save,” he added.

In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care also announced that the NHS in England is continuing its ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign, which is aiming to address barriers that hinder people from seeking medical advice and encourage them to contact a health professional if they have concerns.

From mid-February, the national campaign will be refreshed in a bid to turn its focus to lung cancer and encourage those with specific symptoms to contact their GP.

The main symptom of lung cancer is a cough – if an individual has had a cough for over three weeks and it is not diagnosed as COVID-19, they are being encouraged to speak to their GP.

“The NHS has had a year like no other and – while COVID has put the health service under huge pressure – doctors, nurses and specialist clinicians have still carried out nearly 1.5 million cancer checks with more than 200,000 people starting treatment,” said Johnson.

“Catching cancer early saves lives which is why we are using this World Cancer Day to urge anyone with a worrying symptom to help us help you by getting it checked out and come forward for your routine screenings when offered an appointment,” he added.

New data was also released this week that shows there has been no improvement of late kidney cancer diagnosis in three years.

The findings, released to highlight Kidney Cancer Awareness Week, are drawn from a recent nationwide survey by cancer charity Kidney Cancer UK.

This survey revealed that 46% of patients were diagnosed at late stages three or four, which significantly reduces the chance of a successful treatment.

In addition, 50% of respondents were diagnosed following unrelated scans and 21% suffered an initial misdiagnosis.