LONDON, March 6 (UPI) -- Most in Britain do not know cancer's warning signs and nearly 40 percent say they may delay seeing a physician because of fear, a survey indicates.
The report, "Delay Kills," by Cancer Research UK, said more than three-quarters of people asked to list possible warning signs and symptoms of cancer failed to mention pain, coughing or problems with bowels or bladder.
The survey of 2,090 British adults said more than two-thirds also failed to list bleeding as a cancer warning sign and one-quarter mentioned weight loss or mole changes as being a potential sign of cancer.
However, even when people recognized signs that might be serious, about 40 percent said they might delay getting symptoms checked out because they were worried what the doctor might find. More than 25 percent said they might delay because they feared wasting the doctor's time.
If Great Britain matched the best cancer survival rate in Europe about 11,500 cancer deaths could be prevented each year, the report said.
"If patients are diagnosed when the cancer is still in its early stages before it has had a chance to spread to other parts of the body it is more likely that treatment will be successful," Peter Johnson, Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, said in a statement. "Of course we are all frightened of hearing that we may have cancer. But people need to know that catching the disease early gives them much better odds of surviving."
