Majority of Brits can’t identify common symptoms of cancer

New research has suggested that as much as 88 per cent of the British public can’t accurately identify the symptoms of common cancers.

A survey of 2,000 respondents from the UK, carried out by lawyers Bolt Burdon Kemp, has found that knowledge about cancer is severely lacking, with 88 per cent of respondents unable to identify symptoms commonly associated with cancer. With cancer accounting for more than a quarter of all deaths in the UK, this lack of awareness could have devastating consequences.

Through a multiple-choice, ‘tick any that apply’ question, the survey gave respondents a list of 10 symptoms, and asked them to choose the ones they believed to be common symptoms of cancer. Only seven of the options were correct, while the other three were options that are not typically warning signs of cancer.

Only 12 per cent of respondents were able to correctly identify all seven symptoms without picking an incorrect one, whilst only 37 per cent of Brits were able to identify at least one correct symptom of cancer without picking an incorrect one.

Half of the survey respondents were able to identify at least one correct symptom of cancer, with a third able to identify some correct symptoms, although they did also pick at least one incorrect one. Additionally, five per cent of the 2,000 respondents incorrectly stated that none of the symptoms we listed were symptoms of cancer.

A patient being aware of the common early signs of cancer – and being able to identify them in their own body – is a key first step in delivering timely cancer treatment. It’s important that the government works positively with the NHS and cancer charities to empower the public and arm them with the necessary knowledge to help catch cancer as early as possible.

The survey also found that 59 per cent can’t identify the body parts associated with major cancers and that 57 per cent of Brits don’t know where the large intestines are, which is problematic considering bowel cancer (or colorectal cancer) is one of the most common types of cancer in the UK.

Bolt Burdon Kemp claim that there is an interesting gender divide when looking specifically at reproductive cancers such as prostate cancer and cervical cancer. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the survey found that more men than women say they know about prostate cancer, and more women than men say they know about cervical cancer. However, women are generally more knowledgeable about reproductive cancers than men. When you combine the percentage of people who say they don’t know anything about either of these cancers, this works out to 77 per cent for men and 59 per cent for women. To specify: 30 per cent of men and 36 per cent of women say they don’t know anything about prostate cancer, and 47 per cent of men and 23 per cent of women say they don’t know anything about cervical cancer.