Jump to comment:
- Page navigation anchor for Challenging barriers towards patients presenting to primary care who may have cancerChallenging barriers towards patients presenting to primary care who may have cancer
It is often assumed by GPs that those patients who are over 55 and rarely attend are more likely to have cancer and hence investigated. However those under 55, regardless of frequency of appointments, are less likely to be suspected of cancer for their symptoms.1
For those under 55, presenting can be a challenge in itself and more needs to be done at a local level to help encourage those patients in the United Kingdom (UK) to come forward and present with symptoms. Factors such as ‘embarrassment’ and ‘wasting the time of the doctor’ have been found to make patients in the UK less likely to present when compared to the Danish population.2
An increase in general awareness of the red flag symptoms of cancer, targeted at those in the 18-55 age range, will hopefully lead to an earlier presentation to their GP. This will alter the mind-set, both of patient and clinician, that cancer is only more likely in those over 55. Furthermore, this will prove to be fruitful in improving the survival of cancer in the UK by diagnosing cancer at an earlier stage leading to better outcomes. This in turn, will help to change the negative perceptions regarding cancer care in the UK compared to the rest of the world.
References
1. Jensen H, Merrild CH, Møller H, Vedsted P. Association between GPs’ suspicion of cancer and patients’ usual consultation pattern in primary care: a cr...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.