TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Letters: Tests for improving cancer diagnosis Seeking to improve GPs' ability to recognise potential cancer cases will not significantly reduce levels of late diagnosis (Late cancer diagnosis kills 10,000 a year, 30 November). Early signs of potential serious illness are frequently so inconclusive that only tests directed by specialist doctors can establish whether the disease is present. Being generalists, GPs could not hope to have this specialist expertise.My own experience as a late-diagnosed cancer patient showed that GPs juggle a set of low-definition tests and ad hoc probability judgments when confronted with a patient with an unexplained problem. That is what causes the delays. This practice should be abandoned. It is no use to the patient if they fall within the low-probability bracket if they have in fact got cancer. If a patient's problem persists for more than two or three weeks then they should be referred urgently to a consultant and for the appropriate scan.GPs' stubborn confidence in their capability in this area is unwarranted. As my symptoms got worse, three GPs failed to make a referral, leading me eventually to pay for a private referral, which led promptly to NHS hospital treatment. GPs should be directed to confine themselves to monitoring already diagnosed chronic illnesses and attending to minor ailments.Mark AckaryLondon• In my experience, delays in treating serious conditions are often caused not by reticent patients or ignorant GPs, but by hospital logjams. Four years ago, in searing pain and with no prospect of an appointment, I resorted to buying from my hospital the MRI scan they had done months earlier and seeing the consultant privately; when he saw the scan, he whisked me in on the NHS for urgent surgery. Later, at a different hospital, I again had to resort to a private consultation to speed the diagnosis of what turned out to be cancer. An admissions clerk told me they had patients already diagnosed with cancer for whom they could not find beds. I cannot see the value of referring patients more quickly to hospitals that have no resources to treat them.Patricia de WolfeLondon• So, patients are reluctant to tell their GP if they develop possible symptoms of cancer. If this true, it's surely down to the scorn that GPs often vent on patients who consult them out of anxiety (The midlife MoT is a sop to the worried well, G2, 9 November). No matter how brilliant a GP is at spotting the early signs of cancer, the skill is useless if he or she can't be friendly and welcoming to the patient who isn't exactly ill but who comes to the surgery with a vague anxiety which it may not be easy to put into words. GPs ignore this truth at their peril.Victoria OwensLong Ashton, Somerset• Dr Crippen is wrong to dismiss Katherine Murphy's remarks as "caricatured anecdote" (Don't blame GPs for poor cancer care, G2, 1 December). My experience may be anecdotal, but it is very similar to the one she described. It took five months of seeing my GP for constipation before she referred me. By this stage, I had an acute bowel obstruction and was admitted to hospital as an emergency, where I was diagnosed with disseminated bowel cancer. This was despite my regularly repeating my family's cancer history.Brenda BeechamNewcastle• Four years ago Guardian Weekend published an article of mine about the death, from cancer, of my 13-year-old son Laurie (The day the sky fell in, 3 December 2005). The piece may have had a greater impact than the thousands of other pieces I wrote for the paper put together.It talked, among other things, about the poor conditions Laurie endured at Birmingham children's hospital. At the time, my wife and I had a hopeless fantasy about opening a Teenage Cancer Trust unit there to provide the kind of facilities patients and staff deserve. Next week the builders are due to hand over a £2.5m unit (mostly but not totally paid for). It should be ready for patients early next year, and will transform their lives.This would never have happened without the generosity of Guardian readers. Thank you. Laurie would be very proud.Matthew EngelFair Oak, Bacton, Hereford HR2 0AT www.laurieengelfund.orgNHSHealthCancerHealth policyDoctorsHealth & wellbeingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Decision soon on closing lock to stop Asian carp CHICAGO (AP) -- A decision could come within days on whether to temporarily close a vital Chicago area shipping waterway in an increasingly desperate bid to stop the invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes, an Obama administration adviser said Friday.... hosted.ap.org |
125 pilot whales die on NZ beaches, 43 saved WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Some 125 pilot whales died in New Zealand after stranding on beaches over the weekend - but vacationers and conservation workers managed to coax 43 others back out to sea.... hosted.ap.org |
Books of The Times: Conservation as a Matter of Managing People A continent-hopping examination of the rewilding movement, which stresses the restoration of animal habitats and the importance of migration corridors. feeds.nytimes.com |
Harrabin's Notes New claims rock leading authority on climate science news.bbc.co.uk |