Allow more people in UK with lung cancer symptoms to self-refer for tests, say experts
More people with lung cancer symptoms in the UK should be able to self-refer for tests rather than wait for their GP to request them, experts have suggested.Making it easier for those with symptoms to get chest X-rays could help speed up diagnosis and improve survival rates from the disease, they said.“A lung cancer diagnosis can be devastating but spotting it early can make all the difference,” said Dr Stephen Bradley, lead author of the study and a practising GP in Leeds.The analysis, published in the British Journal of General Practice, cited self-request chest X-ray services that have been established in Leeds and Greater Manchester.Patients with symptoms such as a persistent cough, tiredness and difficulty breathing can access radiology services directly under the schemes, with the report of their X-ray sent to their GP.
The analysis highlighted that people in less affluent groups and smokers are more likely to use the service.Previous research found that the rate of diagnosis from self-referral (about 1%) is similar to those referred by their GP in the conventional way, suggesting that people use the service appropriately.The wider rollout of these services “warrants urgent consideration” given the “present difficulties patients face in accessing primary care”, according to the authors and the charity Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.Among the other recommendations made by experts is that messaging around lung cancer symptoms should be designed to reach people who have never smoked, whose symptoms can be less severe, as well as current and former smokers.“We need to make it easier for people with symptoms to get tests like chest X-ray and ways to raise awareness of the disease, including people who haven’t smoked,” said Bradley.
“This is of course particularly pertinent in the UK as we have outcomes that have been persistently poor, compared to other high income countries,” he added,According to the NHS, more than 43,000 people each year are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK,Smoking is the most common cause, accounting for about 70% of cases,But a small but significant fraction – 14% – of those diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked and the fraction has increased as smoking rates in the UK have declined,Treatment is more likely to be successful when cancer is caught early.
In June 2023, it was announced that a lung cancer screening programme, targeting those aged between 55 and 74 who are current or former smokers, would be rolled out and will be available across England by 2029.However, more than half of lung cancers arise in people who would not be eligible for screening and not all those who are eligible choose to participate.Nick Whitehead, 58, from Newton Aycliffe, visited his GP a number of times with a persistent cough over the course of about 18 months, but was never sent for a chest X-ray.He was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer two years later when he visited A&E after coughing up blood.“There were many opportunities for me to be diagnosed earlier,” Whitehead said.
“I think I wasn’t sent for tests because I was so fit,”“As a scuba diver, my lung capacity is good, so I wasn’t short of breath, but given that we’re constantly told that a persistent cough is a symptom of lung cancer, it’s odd that I wasn’t sent for an X-ray at the very least,”Whitehead said he would have self-referred for an X-ray, had that been an option,Paula Chadwick, chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: “Far too often we hear stories of people like Nick whose lung cancer could have been diagnosed sooner,“It is imperative we do everything we can to change this.
We are making progress, largely through screening with 76% of those caught at stages one and two.”A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Under this government’s plan for change to radically reform the NHS, we will fight cancer on all fronts – through prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research.“We are committed to transforming diagnostic services, including for lung diseases, so we can catch more cases earlier and treat them faster.We will also deliver 40,000 more elective care appointments every week and invest an extra £1.5bn on new surgical hubs and AI scanners.
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Not your standard fizz: New Year’s Eve party drinks with a difference
If you’re reading this, well done. It means you’ve survived the most expensive, sociable and digestively taxing part of the holiday season. Now you can focus all your efforts on getting through Twixmas (a phrase I prayed wouldn’t catch on) and the New Year’s Eve party. Livers and wallets, rejoice.The Guardian’s journalism is independent
‘It’s not London where indies can let their imaginations fly’ – Grace Dent’s restaurants of the year | Grace Dent on restaurants
Another year gone, and I edge closer to the afterlife I deserve, namely in hospitality hell. The service will be slow, the butter will come in naff wrapped portions, and chipper staff will squat at my table between courses and ask: “Any favourites so far?”The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Before then, however, I’ll digest 2024 and regurgitate my findings
Georgina Hayden’s recipe for Bombay chilli cheese ciabatta
In the run-up to Christmas, I like to (mostly) embrace tradition, but as soon as Boxing Day hits, a veil is lifted. I need spice; I need fresh flavours; and I need all the excess cheese to be out of my house. These chilli cheese on toasts are inspired by an Indian classic, the Bombay or Mumbai chilli cheese toastie. I adore the flavours and they’re exactly what I crave right now. Also, feel free to use any not-too-strong melting cheese you have in the fridge
Catherine Brown obituary
The glories of Scottish cookery have had many advocates, but few as quietly eloquent as the food writer Catherine Brown, who has died aged 83. Her dozen books exploring every quarter of her northern realm, as well as years of journalism with the Glasgow Herald and the Scottish Field magazine, both provoked and recorded an explosion of interest in what her nation had to offer our stoves, palates and tables.This turn to her home territory came after realisation that the cookery she was teaching her catering college students was entirely based on a debased lingua franca out of French haute cuisine and that they, and she, would do far better to contemplate the wealth of materials available on their own doorstep. The anecdotal high point of this conversion was her persuading luxury hoteliers to offer a dish of venison tripe (disguised under a Gaelic name) to unsuspecting tourists who, of course, found it excellent.In a succession of books, such as Scottish Regional Recipes (1981), Scottish Cookery (1985), Broths to Bannocks (1990) and A Year in a Scots Kitchen (1996), she teased out the relationship between the kitchen and a country’s population, its landscape and its agriculture
How to feed a jaded Twixmas crowd | Kitchen Aide
There’s a knack to feeding a crowd, so before we talk specific dishes, let’s nail down a few golden rules. First, be practical: “Most people have a single oven, so you don’t want five dishes that need to go in there,” says Phil King, executive chef of Pophams in London. “When I’m thinking of a menu, I want one dish that cooks in the oven, one on the stove and one that can be served at an ambient temperature, such as braised leeks.” Otherwise, favour things that like a rest, whether that’s a joint of meat (“cover with foil and a tea towel and leave for an hour”) or a veggie wellington (“that will sit comfortably for 30 minutes”). And remember, snacks are golden: “That’s anything you don’t have to prepare yourself,” notes King, be it olives, crisps, nuts – anything that will keep hunger at bay
Delia Smith not cooking Christmas dinner for first time in 52 years
Delia Smith, the doyenne of Christmas dinners, is taking a year off from cooking the festive feast for the first time in more than 50 years.The 83-year-old has been dishing out Christmas dinners and advice on how to prepare them for more than half a century.But this year the daunting task of cooking the Christmas turkey for the woman who has taught a nation how to do it will fall to someone else. And Smith says she is thrilled to be taking a break.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s This Natural Life from her Suffolk home, Smith said: “In 52 years, this will be the first year I’m not doing it
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