Shocking number in the dark over warning signs for cancer

WIDESPREAD ignorance among people in Yorkshire over the signs and symptoms of cancer is revealed in a new report published today.

More than three quarters asked to list possible warning signs of the disease failed to mention either coughing or problems with bowels or bladder, according to the report by the charity Cancer Research UK.

Two thirds of people surveyed in the region also failed to list bleeding, while only around a quarter mentioned weight loss as being a potential sign of cancer.

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But even when people recognised signs they thought might be serious, the survey found that almost 40 per cent said they might delay getting symptoms checked out because they were worried what the doctor might find.

Around a third said they might delay because they were worried about wasting the doctor’s time – a significantly higher proportion than a quarter nationally.

The report’s survey also revealed that when people were asked what they thought affected a person’s chance of developing cancer only 13 per cent mentioned being overweight and around five per cent listed old age. Some 86 per cent said smoking affected cancer risk but only 31 per cent mentioned getting sunburned.

Every year, around 27,200 people are diagnosed with cancer in Yorkshire and around 13,700 from the region die from the disease. Leading specialists have warned the failure to recognise common cancer symptoms means a later diagnosis of the disease, leading to thousands of avoidable deaths.

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Cancer Research UK said the statistics have spurred a new partnership between the charity and supermarket giant Tesco aimed at helping scientists find ways to close the gap between survival rates in the UK and the best in Europe.

Tesco has pledged to raise £10m to fund 32 early diagnosis research projects across the UK and will launch a new in-store customer awareness campaign, with Cancer Research UK leaflets on the early signs of cancer on display at checkouts.

Latest figures suggest if Britain matched the best cancer survival rate in Europe around 11,500 deaths could be avoided. Experts believe a poor record in early diagnosis lies at the heart of why Britain lags behind.

Tesco UK’s chief executive, Richard Brasher, said: “Missing the early warning signs can result in late diagnosis of cancer which leads to thousands of avoidable cancer deaths. Working with Cancer Research UK as our charity of the year, we will work to get this message over to millions of our customers and raise a record £10m to help save more lives.”

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Among the projects, it will help fund researchers at Leeds University working on lymphoma – a cancer that affects the body’s white blood cells. A type of white blood cell called a B cell is affected in some types of lymphoma and researchers are trying to understand some of the genetic mistakes that lead B cells to become cancerous. Understanding these genetic “signatures” could lead to new ways to identify different cancer types earlier and more accurately.

In Sheffield, the company will help to fund a prostate cancer study to help men who have inherited an increased risk of developing the disease because they carry a faulty BRCA2 gene. Researchers are investigating whether prostate cancer screening can spot the disease early in men with this faulty gene.

Nicki Embleton, of Cancer Research UK in Yorkshire, said: “If patients are diagnosed when cancer is still in its early stages, before it has had a chance to spread to other parts of the body, treatment is more likely to be successful. Our new report shows how much more we have to do to raise awareness about the early signs of cancer.”