People with persistent tummy troubles in the South East including diarrhoea, bloating or discomfort in the tummy area, are being urged to get checked for cancer as part of the NHS and Public Health England’s ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign.
TV adverts and social media posts in the South East will urge people to speak to their GP if they have a symptom including diarrhoea, bloating or discomfort in the tummy area for 3 weeks or more as they could be a sign of cancer.
Figures show that 14,181 people are diagnosed with cancers in the abdomen in the South East every year, which includes ovarian, kidney and bowel cancers.
More than 4 in 10 people would leave it longer to get health advice than they normally would have before the coronavirus outbreak, however, delaying can have serious consequences for some cancers. While there was a dip in referrals for these cancers at the peak of the first COVID wave, more people are now coming forward for checks.
Hospitals have put extensive measures in place so that patients can get safely tested and treated, including by rolling out COVID protected hubs across the country and introducing treatment swaps that require fewer trips to hospital and have less of an effect on cancer patients’ immune systems.
The NHS Medical Director for the South East has said people should not hesitate to get in touch with their GP if they have concerns and reassured the public that local health services have plans in place so people can continue to get tests and treatment.
Vaughan Lewis, South East Medical Director for NHS England and Improvement, said:
“If you or a loved one has one of these symptoms, please don’t ignore them. Our message to you is clear – you are not a burden and we are here to safely treat you so please don’t delay – help us help you and come forward as you usually would for care.
Article continues below this advertisement “Cancer is easier to treat when it is caught at an earlier stage and so coming forward for a check could save your life.”
The new drive is part of NHS England & Improvement, and Public Health England’s the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign which looks to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing NHS services. The campaign reminds people that the NHS has adapted its services and can still see patients safely.
Visit www.nhs.uk/cancersymptoms for more information.
Karen has shared her experience of having cancer surgery at Spire Hospital, Southampton during the pandemic. She’s said:
“I’d never had any surgery or anesthetic before so I was quite apprehensive I must admit, but they looked after me from start to finish and I didn’t have any worries considering it was new for me. The hospital was fabulous, they did warn me that when I went into the operating theatre all the staff would be wearing extra things, but it wasn’t anything to worry about, so I didn’t.
“If you have a cancer diagnosis please go straight away, don’t wait, just let the hospital do what they’re best at doing.”
Sadly with CV being the ‘only’ game in town where we get rapid treatment, many will endure pain, worry and some death due to our doctors going into hibernation mode at the very start of this pandemic and no doubt right up to the very end.
Disgusting when they are paid, and paid well, and yet others face similar dangers with less money and less PPE.
Lets expect them to dare put in for a rise soon too.
Get in touch with your G.P HOW ???? These people don’t seem to know what’s going on in the real world, you can’t even get passed a receptionist it’s like they’ve taken a course in “fob off”
There is a major problem on the Island in getting a GP appointment in the first place, and there are not enough GPs anyway, Yarmouth- closed, Brading- closed Newport was 2 now 3 etc,etc.
(And ‘they are still building more and more houses, with no increase in Health Centres)
Problem stems from the UK allowing in too many people. Whilst such, as yet have not arrived here in droves, much of the huge amount of new builds will be filled with those people wishing to leave towns on the mainland that they no longer recognise as their home towns.
This causes places like our Island to have more people arrive, and ruin our green fields and overcrowd our doctors, dentists, hospital, schools, roads and ruin our more gentile way of life.
As jobs grow less here, but people increase in number, only someone mental or those ‘making’ from such ruination, will not, or pretend not to see the problem.
Vote this awful greedy council OUT
PP (how apt!) is overlooking that very many of the “people allowed in” are the only GPs, doctors, nurses, care assistants etc left after decades of strangulation of our health services by government. It doesn’t seem to have much to do with IW Council save that they are so readily complicit in doing what Westminster says.
speak to your g p more chance of winning the lottery