Help Us Help You – Diagnosing Cancer Early
NHS England is re-running its ‘Help Us, Help You’ national cancer campaign activity to tackle barriers to timely presentation.
The campaign encourages people who have noticed something in their body that doesn’t feel right and are worried it could be cancer to contact their GP practice.
We know that many people worry about cancer but sometimes put off getting checked because they hope the symptoms will go away or think they’ll get bad news. But finding cancer early makes it more treatable and can save lives.
It’s important that if you are worried about a symptom that could be cancer, to contact your GP practice. To rule out cancer, your GP may refer you for tests. Whatever the result, the NHS is here for you.
For more information on cancer signs and symptoms go to:
Over half (53%) of the public worry about cancer every few months or more
30% of the most at-risk age group (55+) claimed that they never worry about cancer at all.
More than1 in 6 of the public (17%) surveyed worries about cancer once a week or more.
The figure rises to 18% for the South Asian respondents, with 10% worrying about cancer every day.
14% of Black respondents surveyed worries about cancer once a week or more.
Two thirds (66%) of the public would speak to friends and family before anyone else if they were worried about cancer symptoms.
Women (64%) are more likely than men (53%) to speak to their GP first if they were concerned about cancer symptoms.
One third of the most at-risk group (55+) would wait to speak to others before contacting their GP with worrying signs of cancer.
Nearly half (49%) of people aged 55 and over admit that they wouldn’t have a reason to not go and see their GP if they noticed something different or thought something was wrong.
The most common reasons for waiting to book a GP appointment were not wanting to find out bad news and hoping the symptoms would go away on their own.
The earlier a cancer is picked up, the easier it is to treat it and the more likely the treatment is to be successful. Don’t carry the worry of cancer with you, if something in your body doesn’t feel right, contact your GP practice today.
Until you find out, you can’t rule it out!
