{"id":529,"date":"2015-06-24T08:20:13","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T07:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/?p=529"},"modified":"2015-07-06T09:03:57","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T08:03:57","slug":"new-approach-to-cancer-diagnosis-could-save-thousands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/new-approach-to-cancer-diagnosis-could-save-thousands\/","title":{"rendered":"New Approach to Cancer Diagnosis Could Save Thousands"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">New guidelines have been issued in an attempt to reduce the time it takes for GPs to diagnose cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who devised the guidance, says it could save around 5,000 lives each year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Experts say action is necessary if cancer survival rates in England are going to improve. They are presently lagging behind the best in Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Emphasis has been placed upon recognising the general signs of cancer, rather than waiting for a whole host of symptoms to arise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">It is hoped this will prompt GPs to consider cancer sooner, meaning patients will undergo tests earlier than is currently the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Early access to treatment<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">The guidelines also recommend that GPs request tests directly, preventing the need for a referral to a specialist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Patients will be able to access CT scans and other examinations, such as endoscopies, without having to wait for an appointment with a specialist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">This should speed up the diagnostic process, ensuring patients receive timely treatment. This is very important as the earlier cancer is detected, the better the prognosis will be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Follow-up appointments should also be given to patients who have concerning symptoms which are not yet indicative of cancer. Such safety nets will help prevent a missed diagnosis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Professor Mark Baker from NICE said: \u201cThroughout the history of European cancer statistics Britain has lagged behind the best European countries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">\u201cThe main reason for that is that people tend to present with a cancer at a more advanced stage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">\u201cThis guideline specifically addresses that shortfall. We estimate it will [save] about 5,000 lives a year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Sara Hiom of Cancer Research UK said: \u201cResearch would indicate we do fewer diagnostic tests in this country than comparable countries, but there is a lack of workforce, perhaps a lack of kit, to do those tests, so patients may be missing out because there are delays, backlogs or bottlenecks and this really does need to be addressed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Legal advice<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Every year thousands of lives are lost or adversely affected because of delays in cancer care. If you or your loved one has suffered injuries because of poor medical care, please contact us to discuss your options.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New guidelines have been issued in an attempt to reduce the time it takes for GPs to diagnose cancer. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who devised the guidance, says it could save around 5,000 lives each year. Experts say action is necessary if cancer survival rates in England are going to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[543,544,274,545,546,367],"class_list":["post-529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cancer-negligence","tag-cancer-diagnosis","tag-cancer-tests","tag-delayed-cancer-diagnosis","tag-gp-cancer-diagnosis","tag-new-cancer-guidelines","tag-nice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":541,"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529\/revisions\/541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glynns.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}