Journal
CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
Volume 15, Issue 4, Pages 174-180Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE LONDON
DOI: 10.1016/S0936-6555(02)00416-8
Keywords
awareness; cancer; knowledge; neoplasms; primary care; public
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The likelihood of cure from cancer is usually dependent on the stage of disease at diagnosis. Some patients attend their general practitioner with a long preceding history of cancer symptoms. This may be due in part to a lack of recognition of the seriousness of the symptoms. We have conducted a survey of 406 adult patients in a two-centre primary care practice to determine their awareness of risk factors, presenting symptoms, treatments and support services for cancer. The two health centres are located in areas covering different socio-economic groups - one located in an affluent residential area, and the other a deprived inner-city population. Significant deficiencies were identified in the cancer knowledge of respondents. Personal or family history of cancer, younger age and female sex were associated with improved cancer awareness. A review is also presented of the previous published literature on the cancer knowledge of the general public in the U.K. The results suggest that overall the public knowledge of cancer is poor and greater attempts should be made to raise awareness. (C) 2003 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available