Wednesday 10 August 2022 11:01 AM Half of patients with cancer symptoms put off seeing GP for half a year trends now

Half of adults in the UK who have a possible cancer symptom do not contact their GP within six months of spotting a change to their body, a poll has revealed.

And 45 per cent of people who experience a 'red flag' cancer symptom, including coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss and a new or unusual lump, did not contact their GP within half a year, according to a YouGov survey for Cancer Research UK.

Being diagnosed early can help people survive cancer but the chances of this happening reduce significantly if people don't tell their doctor about unusual changes to their health or possible cancer symptoms.

When bowel cancer is diagnosed at stage one, its earliest stage, more than nine in 10 people will survive it for five years or more, compared with one in 10 when diagnosed at stage four, the latest stage.

Campaigner Dame Deborah James, who died from bowel cancer at the age of 40 in June, urged people to check their poo to help increase earlier diagnoses.

The shocking figures come as people across the country continue to struggle to get GP appointments.

A major NHS-backed survey last month found half of sick Britons have not seen a GP in a year, with most saying they find it too difficult to book an appointment.

Critics described the lack of access as a 'ticking time bomb' that will lead to vital diagnoses being missed.

From 2020-21 early cancer diagnosis has been one of three priority areas for primary care networks, in which local GP practices work together with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services.

One of the key ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan, which was published in 2019, aims for 75 per cent of people with cancer

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