The word cancer passes shivers in our hearts, minds and entire body, losing sleep and apatite. It is akin to death sentence even though many cancers are treatable, expanding one’s life-span from five years to indefinite, living as long as ordinary people who are healthy and enjoys life-longevity. But the cure or at least the delay in departure is connected to early detection and immediate treatment, although many cancers reappear sooner or later and patients need constant supervision throughout their lives.
The main cancers inflecting, invading our bodies are breast cancers in women and prostate cancers in men. Practically every man in their old age, normally after retirement, suffers from enlarge prostate. But mercifully most are benign but it needs medication for life, disturbing night sleep. Another dangerous cancer affecting everyone, irrespective of gender or age, is bowel cancer. Again if diagnosed in time, it can be cured, or at least kept in check, although some may need surgery. Other types of cancers are brain tumour, chest, bone, bladder, kidney, skin, colorectal, cervical, sarcoma and few more types of cancers which may affect comparatively tiny number of patients, thus some may not be diagnosed in time.
Although NHS has made tremendous progress during the last decade, appointments with oncologists available within days rather than months, but delay may occasionally occur in some cases, as patients have to go through so many tests and that include X-rays, MRI and CT scan, blood tests and many more, so often some of these tests are repeated if there is grey area, the result is not clear cut. But it is to our advantage that NHS is so through, not willing to take chances with wrong diagnosis that may end up in unnecessary treatment, even operations.
NHS is treating bowel cancer with zeal and determination. At present people between the age of 60 and 74 receive faecal immunochemical home testing kits every two years which is effective for early diagnosis. Unfortunately so many people, being in good health ignore it with fatal consequences. As a result only 10% of such cases are diagnosed by early screening, majority come to know their fate while visiting A & E or their GPs send them to see specialists.
Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, to his credit, agreed to bring down screening threshold by a decade, bringing it in line with Scotland, thus benefitting younger people, saving them a life of misery. It is time to educate people not to ignore home kits that could save them from life-long misery.
Kumudini Valambia
By email
