New Education Module to Improve Early Diagnosis
At Sarcoma UK we regularly hear from patients and supporters about the need for there to be improvements in the speed at which sarcomas are diagnosed. Megan Fletcher, Early Diagnosis Officer, explains how this new education module for GPs and nurses will contribute to this and how it fits into Sarcoma UK’s wider work on early diagnosis.
All patients deserve the best chance at beating cancer. However, this is not the picture we see in sarcoma, with widespread delays, misdiagnoses and repeated appointments meaning that patients are spending months or even years not receiving the correct, if any, treatment or diagnosis. The effects of this are serious as, for some, early diagnosis could mean the difference between life and death.
For healthcare professionals, a greater awareness of sarcoma is seen as essential in achieving earlier diagnosis. Patients often tell us that the biggest delay to their diagnosis is having to repeatedly see a GP who doesn’t recognise their symptoms as being a potential indicator of sarcoma. One in three sarcoma patients see a GP more than 3 times before they are referred for further tests, causing considerable setbacks to getting a diagnosis.
In our report, Delays Cost Lives, we called for an education programme for medical professionals to help improve these shocking statistics. Since then, we worked with GatewayC, a free online cancer education platform, to develop a module to educate GPs on the signs and symptoms of sarcoma in the hope to improve early diagnosis, increase sarcoma survival, and enhance patient experience.
The course teaches GPs by using real-life examples and interviews with doctors and patients to show some of the symptoms of sarcoma, as well as past instances of where problems have arisen. The module is accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners, which is important as it means that GPs will be able to count it as professional training.
Dr Alec Logan, a teaching GP and member of Sarcoma UK’s Early Diagnosis Expert Steering Group, explains why the module is a positive contribution to work on early diagnosis:
“The new GatewayC module on sarcoma diagnosis is a welcome tool to help all primary care professionals educate themselves on suspected sarcomas.
Sarcomas are more common than you think, with each GP practice seeing a sarcoma every 20 months on average. GPs and nurses need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of sarcoma as delays to diagnosis can be costly.”
Alec’s comments show how the course will contribute to an improvement in patient experience, as their sarcomas will be diagnosed earlier, increasing their chance of survival.
The module is one part of a wider set of projects at Sarcoma UK on early diagnosis, which are guided by Sarcoma UK’s Early Diagnosis Expert Steering Group of healthcare professionals, patients, and carers. This aligns with our organisational strategy to ‘work together with the sarcoma community to achieve earlier, accurate diagnosis’.
Further to this, we are also creating education resources for other healthcare professionals, creating resources to empower patients when talking to their GP, as well as creating and promoting radiology guidelines to improve scans for sarcoma.
If you’re a healthcare professional and want to know more about sarcoma, you can register for this course by visiting gatewayc.org.uk/courses
