Study Reveals Early Cancer Warning Signs Often Overlooked

GP’s are dismissing the early warning signs of a quarter of cancer cases and putting thousands of lives at risk according to research released today.

The study, published by the Rarer Cancers Foundation, revealed that one in four patients are only diagnosed once the disease had spread to other organs, by which time it’s often too late to be treated.

And that more than half of people with rare cancers, equating to 50 per cent of all cases, are having to make repeat trips to the doctors before being referred to a specialist.

Lisa Jordan, a medical negligence lawyer from Irwin Mitchell, said: “Every year Irwin Mitchell deals with scores of cases in which people have had their lives shattered because of delays in diagnosing various forms of cancer.
“Our cases involve delays that occur for a number of reasons, ranging from misdiagnosis to lost details to delay from diagnosis to treatment. The results can be devastating.

“I would urge the NHS to do all it can to give GPs access to training they need to ensure the early diagnosis of potentially life threatening illness."

Despite having billions invested into cancer treatments over the past decade, Britain has one of the lowest cancer survival rates in Europe.

If you've experienced negligent treatment from your GP you might be entitled to compensation. Visit our GP Negligence Claims page for more information.