Cancer Survival Rates

I know this has been my first note for some weeks but really there has been little to report except for a progress report on the side-effects of my treatment and I doubt if anybody really wants a blow by blow account of those. Suffice it to say that I still get very tired and that my digestive system still isn’t back to normal though both of those are improving. However every day is different and a pattern is ard to identify.

This item in the news this morning has really got my blood up, however.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/#startcontent


I’m very pleased to hear that cancer survival rates are greatly improved in the UK though still not as good as most of Western Europe’s. The differences in one year survival rates across different parts of the country is disturbing and it doesn’t appear to relate solely to prosperous or deprived areas as one might expect.

The biggest problem seems to be in diagnosis. Patients aren’t taking their symptoms to their GP early enough and GPs aren’t referring their patients to specialists promptly enough. This makes me a bit angry.

I went to my GP with symptoms of a urinary problem in the Summer of 2007 and, because there was no sign of an infection, she quite rightly, referred me to a urologist whom I saw in August that year. He diagnosed my problem as a non-malignant enlarged prostate and began treating me for it despite the presence of leukocytes in my urine sample. I learnt much later that this is a marker for, amongst other conditions, bladder cancer.

My condition was not finally diagnosed until May 2009. Hardly my fault or my GPs!