Opportunities to Raise Cancer Awareness after Referral: patient survey
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Opportunities to Raise Cancer Awareness After Referral: survey of patient views
IRAS ID
303199
Contact name
Ruth Evans
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
When patients visit their doctor with signs/symptoms that could be due to cancer, they may be referred to be seen by a specialist or have a test within two weeks. More than 90% of those referred on this two-week wait pathway do not have a cancer diagnosed. They are discharged or treated for other conditions. However, patients with new or ongoing symptoms may not return promptly to their doctor because they were reassured following their previous referral or they don’t want to bother their doctor again. This may result in delays in the diagnosis of any future cancers in these patients. Delays in diagnosis may mean the cancer is larger, or has spread around the body, meaning it is harder to treat.
We want to look at the possibility of providing patients with better advice about how to reduce their future cancer risk after they are discharged from a two-week wait pathway. For instance, patients could be offered information on common cancer signs, when and how to seek help, or advice on taking part in cancer screening.We do not currently know the best way to offer this support in the NHS. The purpose of this study is to investigate what patients think about the idea of being being given advice after having been discharged from the two-week wait pathway. In this study we will conduct a patient postal survey where we will present different types of support and measure patients’ views of the burden, benefits, understanding and perceived effectiveness of each one.
The content and format of support has been informed by interviews with health professionals and our patient and public involvement representatives.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SC/0239
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jul 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion