By Anna O’Hanlon, Clinical Negligence Solicitor at Hampson Hughes Solicitors.

Cancer: Is it fair to wait?

It has been reported in the press today that certain patients are at risk of a late diagnosis of cancer due to longer cancer referral times.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17138692

Research has found that cancer patients who are young, female or from an ethnic minority face a longer wait to be diagnosed and referred to a cancer specialist.

Data collected by the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2010 showed that a quarter of patients needed to visit their GP at least three times before being sent to a cancer specialist.

The majority of cancers are detected after patients go to their family doctor, screening and emergency hospital visits are the other routes.

Health information manager at Cancer Research UK, Jessica Harris, has said, “This study highlights some of the difficulties in diagnosing cancer in primary care. A GP will see only around eight cases of cancer a year, on average, among hundreds of people with symptoms that might indicate cancer, so making appropriate referral decisions can be challenging, especially for rarer cancers or those with symptoms that are vague or common to other diseases.”

Here at Hampson Hughes we deal with cases of late diagnosis of cancer. If you feel you have been affected by this please contact Anna O’Hanlon on 0151 242 1070

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