Publish date: 3 March 2022
A new NHS campaign to address the fear of cancer was launched this week – urging people not to ignore signs of the disease.
NHS England and NHS Improvement launched their ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign, aimed at encouraging those who are experiencing potential signs of cancer to come forward to their GP practice to help increase earlier diagnosis and improve outcomes.
The campaign will target men and women over the age of 50 and from C2DE socio-economic groups, as these people are most likely to experience a cancer diagnosis, including Black and South Asian communities who are already at risk of health inequalities.
It will also target friends and family members to ensure they encourage loved ones to contact their GP practice if they are worried something could be cancer.
New survey data of 2,000 respondents shows:
- Over 70% of the public are afraid of being diagnosed with cancer, with cancer coming out as the top health condition people are most afraid of.
- When having a serious bodily change or a feeling something was wrong, 42% of people would either look for answers online, speak to family and friends, completely ignore it or wait to see if anything changed, before speaking to their GP.
- Over 20% of people said they wouldn’t go to the GP if they noticed a serious bodily change as they were hoping it would go away on its own, while almost a third (31%) said they either would not want to find out bad news or waste the NHS’s time.
But almost 80% agreed that catching cancer early makes it more treatable. When cancer is diagnosed early, treatment is more likely to be successful.
NHS North West Medical Director, Dr David Levy, said: “If you think you have symptoms that could be linked to cancer, it can be an incredibly daunting thing to think about what to do, not just for yourself but the implications for your family.
“As someone with a clinical background in cancer care, it’s good to see that so many people in the North West understand it’s important to get that diagnosis early. Equally, it’s also possible you may be worrying unnecessarily, and you may have something that is less serious. Either way, what is important is to get checked.
“NHS staff have pulled out all the stops to ensure cancer was prioritised throughout the pandemic. The NHS is here for you so don’t let cancer play on your mind – get checked without delay.”