Too many ‘martyrs' ignore cancer symptoms for fear of burdening NHS, report finds
Too many cancer patients risk having their symptoms missed because they are 'martyrs' who do not want to overburden the NHS, a report warns.
The report by the consultancy Incisive Health calls for the health service to become an 'early intervention service' where cases of the disease are caught in early stages.
The author of the report said more people must overcome their reluctance to seek help if more cancers are to be diagnosed at stages one and two before they have spread.
'No one wants people with symptoms of cancer to become martyrs due to holding off seeking medical attention because they didn't want to bother their GP or overload the NHS', said Mike Birtwistle, who wrote the report.
'Too many people avoid seeking help because they know how stretched the NHS is. This kind of martyrdom to protect the NHS results in too many people being diagnosed at a late stage, damaging their survival chances.'
The NHS should be 'mobilising people with signs and symptoms' of cancer, the report adds.
The report continues: 'There should also be a continued role for raising public awareness of signs and symptoms and – most importantly – motivating them to act.
'Experts highlighted that people are often conditioned not to 'bother' the NHS.'
The report also says that GPs could be discouraging patients from having a check-up so they do not contribute to the burden of hospitals that are under pressure.
It explains: 'Primary healthcare professionals have a role in previously guarding NHS resources, which can act as a deterrent for seeking help.'
Latest figures reveal GPs in England made 235,157 urgent cancer referrals in December, down from 259,563 in November, but up from 220,350 in December 2023.
The report also reveals the NHS has consistently failed to meet a target to diagnose 75 per cent of cancers at stages one and two between 2018 and 2024, with only 60 per cent spotted by that point.
It comes as the Labour Government is developing a National Cancer Plan, which is expected to be published next spring.
Earlier in February, the Government launched a call for evidence to help shape a plan to transform how the disease is treated and create a roadmap to reduce deaths.
Mr Birtwistle said Labour ministers should use their forthcoming 10-year health plan and the cancer plan to embed a more proactive approach to cancer detection in the NHS.
Naser Turabi, Cancer Research UK's director of evidence and interpretation, told The Guardian: 'People shouldn't be discouraged from going to their doctor if something doesn't feel right for them. They aren't 'bothering' their GP or 'burdening' the NHS.'
Mr Turabi urged the NHS to focus on improving attendance rates for its three main cancer screening programmes for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.
Sarah Woolnough, the chief executive of the King's Fund think tank, said: 'There's strong evidence that finding cancer early leads to better treatment and survival, so we should redouble efforts to make community access to prevention and early detection services as easy and convenient as possible.'
In response, Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England's national medical director, said the NHS was diagnosing and treating more early-stage cancers than ever.
He said: 'There are many reasons why people are reluctant to come forward and get checked, from not recognising the key signs and symptoms of cancer to not wanting to burden the NHS unnecessarily.'
Prof Powis added that approaches such as offering lung checks to smokers and ex-smokers in high-tech mobile scanning trucks in supermarket car parks are improving early diagnoses.
Figures reveal the number of people in Britain being diagnosed with cancer every year has risen to about 412,400, or one every 90 seconds. Factors behind this increase are include an ageing population and lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption.
They also show that around 167,000 people die from the disease every year, amount to 460 a day.
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