MORE than half of people with cancer symptoms wait longer than six months to contact their GP, a survey reveals.
The delay cuts survival chances as it is easier to treat the disease if it is detected early.
Yet 48 per cent ignore “red flag” symptoms, such as coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss or a new lump for at least half a year, the Cancer Research UK poll shows.
Poorer people are least likely to seek help quickly.
The charity’s chief exec Michelle Mitchell said: “Spotting cancer early is vital and the first step is getting help for a possible cancer symptom.
“It’s really worrying to see such a large gap in accessing services between the UK’s most and least deprived groups.”
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The charity says ministers must use upcoming health reform proposals and ten-year plan to grasp the initiative on improving cancer survival rates.
Ministers have said they want three in four cases picked up early by 2028.
Currently, the rate is just one in two, while 10,000 people are waiting more than three months to see a hospital doctor over a cancer scare.
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