Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Secondary cancer diagnosis delays 'unacceptable'

Secondary cancer diagnosis delays 'unacceptable'

People should know the signs that breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body, a charity says.

One in four patients with secondary breast cancer had to visit their GP three or more times before they got a diagnosis, a survey suggests.

A breast cancer charity said there should be more awareness that the disease can spread to other parts of the body.

GPs said they were doing their best for patients but symptoms could be difficult to spot.

In the UK, 35,000 people are living with the incurable form of the disease.

Breast Cancer Now said it was "unacceptable" that some people whose cancer had spread were not getting early access to treatments which could alleviate symptoms and improve their quality of life.

"For too long now, the worrying perception that everyone survives breast cancer has masked the heartbreaking reality for 11,500 families in the UK that lose someone they love each year," the charity said.

The advanced, or metastatic form of the disease means the cancer has spread through the blood and created secondary tumours in the bones, liver, lung or brain.

It cannot be cured and patients stay in treatment for the rest of their lives.


'I felt stupid and naive'


Jo Myatt, 43, from Chorley, went to see her GP five times over a number of years before discovering that breast cancer had spread to her liver and bones.

"I felt like a hypochondriac for going all the time," she says.

Her symptoms started with missed periods and nausea before becoming more serious and persistent, leaving her unable to move her neck.

But no-one had mentioned secondary breast cancer as a possibility when she was diagnosed 10 years previously.

"I was devastated. I felt stupid and naive," Jo says.

"People don't realise it can spread to other areas of the body and you can have nothing in your breast."

Jo is now on her fourth treatment and waiting anxiously for the results of her latest scans.

She knows she is eventually going to run out of options, but she urges other women to speak up.

"If you're worried about pain, make doctors aware of your history.

"You're not going mad - the sooner you find the secondary, the better health you're going to be in and the more it can be contained."



What are the symptoms of secondary breast cancer?


They can vary depending on where the cancer has spread to, but common signs and symptoms include:

unexpected weight loss or loss of appetite


discomfort or swelling under the ribs or across the upper abdomen


severe or continuing headaches


altered vision or speech


feeling sick most of the time


breathlessness or a dry cough


loss of balance or weakness or numbness of the limbs


any lumps or swellings under the arm, breastbone or collarbone


pain in the bones (eg back, hips or ribs) that doesn't get better with pain relief and may be worse at night
Cancer Research UK lists more symptoms of secondary breast cancer on its website.

Breast Cancer Now's survey of 2,100 people in the UK with secondary breast cancer found that just 13% were told of the symptoms to look out for if their cancer spread.

And four in 10 said they felt their symptoms had not been taken seriously before they were diagnosed.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, with around 55,000 new cases every year.

Although survival rates have significantly improved over the last 40 years in the UK, there are still around 11,500 deaths from breast cancer each year - mostly from secondary breast cancer.


'Working flat out'


Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, from the Royal College of GPs, said: "GPs and our teams are working flat out to do the very best we can for all our patients.

"We understand the importance of timely cancer diagnosis and are highly trained to identify possible symptoms of cancer and its recurrence."

But she said some symptoms were "very difficult to interpret because they are vague in the initial stages" or similar to other, more common conditions.

Prof Stokes-Lampard called for GPs to have better access to the right diagnostic tools and training to use them.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
U.S. Tech Stocks Slide on AI Boom Concerns
White House Confirms Talks Over Intel Stake
Trump Suggests U.S. Could Support Ukraine ‘By Air’
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
UK Government Tries to Sue 4chan for Breaching Online Safety Act
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
"Every Centimeter of Your Body Is a Masterpiece": The Shocking Meta Document Revealed
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
China Requires Data Centres to Source Majority of AI Chips Locally, For Technological Sovereignty
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ ChatGPT 5 Stumbles, Struggles to Even Label a Map
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×