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July 27, 2018
A survey of patients treated for cancer on the NHS in England shows that blood cancers take longer to be diagnosed than other types of cancer.
today by NHS England, found that more than one-third (35.6%) of blood cancer patients who consulted their GP with symptoms before diagnosis had to go three times. once or more before being transferred to the hospital
23%) of cancer patients and represents a slight increase over the 2016 survey, while 35.2% of Blood cancer patients needed to see their doctor three or more times before being referred to a specialist. Experience Survey, with 69,000 people being treated for cancer in England answering the questionnaire in 2017. The 59 questions covered all aspects of cancer care, including diagnosis, access to information, quality care and support provided at the back. Phil Reynolds, director of policy at the Bloodwise Blood Cancer Research Charitable Organization, said:
We have long known that people with blood cancer may have difficulty in get a diagnosis. for doctors to refer them to the hospital. People with myeloma, in particular, must on average consult their general practitioners before being sent to a specialist. This can be explained by a number of factors, including lack of awareness of the symptoms of blood cancer and the ease with which many symptoms can be confused with more common conditions.
For some types of blood cancer, early diagnosis can impact patient outcomes. This latest investigation of the cancer patients' experience shows that much remains to be done to improve care in this area.
Although the survey showed that some regions are seeing improvements in blood cancer, people with blood cancer were more likely to experience some confusion around their diagnosis, with only 59% "completely understand" the explanation that was given to them. of what was wrong with them – compared to 73% of cancer patients in general. Only 46.4% of patients with blood cancer reported having been informed of the possible long-term side effects of their treatment.
It has always been demonstrated that a Clinical Nurse Specialist (ICS) has a significant positive impact on the experience of cancer treatment patients. In this year's survey, 91% of patients with blood cancer (and 91% of cancer patients overall) said that they had been given the name of CNS for support them in their treatment. This represents a significant improvement – up from 85% in 2013. However, access to a CNS varies considerably across different NHS trusts in the country, and there are still thousands of people with cancer. blood.
https://bloodwise.org.uk/blog/blood-cancers-taking-longer-be-diagnosed-other-cancers
