Some of the most common signs and symptoms of cancer as experts urge people to get checked
Worrying figures this week showed the number of people being diagnosed with cancer early plummeted by a third during the pandemic
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With Covid-19 case rates and deaths falling across the country, cancer services are starting to return to normal.
Last modified on Wed 5 May 2021 18.40 EDT
The number of people being diagnosed with cancer early in England has plummeted during the Covid pandemic, sparking fears that many will only be treated when
it is too late to save them.
Official figures show a third fewer cancers were detected at stage one, when the chances of survival are highest, in the early months of the pandemic than during the same months a year before.
Cancer experts fear that the figures, which have been collected by Public Health England’s National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, mean thousands of people have the disease but have not yet started treatment because of “a shift to later diagnosis”. They urged anyone with possible symptoms of the disease to get them checked out immediately.
Experts warned the lost referrals could lead to thousands of delayed diagnoses and avoidable deaths.
NHS England data shows the number of patients urgently referred for the cancer fell by 28 per cent between April 2020 and January of this year - about 52,000 fewer.
The charity Prostate Cancer UK estimates at least 8,600 fewer men started treatment for prostate cancer in that time, down around a third on 2019.
It said the drop in referrals is largely attributed to fewer men seeing their GP during this time. Urgent cancer referrals are made when family doctors strongly suspect a patient may have the disease.
For example, separate NHS Digital figures show there have been 35million GP appointments over the course of the pandemic.
Rishi Sunak faced fury from charities, MPs and care groups today after failing to provide any extra help for hospitals, care homes or medical research.
Care home bosses accused the Chancellor of betraying elderly residents, claiming he had once again ignored the cash-strapped sector which has been ravaged by Covid.
Boris Johnson originally promised to reform social care when he first became Prime Minister in 2019, but the plans have been delayed again until the end of this year.
NHS officials also criticised the budget, describing it as disappointing and light on announcements for hospitals, which are grappling with record-waiting lists caused by the Covid backlog.