All.Can Patient Survey

25 People whose cancer diagnosis took longer gave more negative scores on virtually every question in the survey, particularly in terms of information and support ( Table 1 ). For cancers detected outside of a screening programme, the speed of diagnosis varied considerably by cancer type. Nearly 80% of prostate cancer respondents said their cancer was diagnosed in less than a month, while for head and neck cancer respondents this was only 25% ( Figure 2 ). Survey questions Unweighted base size * % of respondents who answered ‘No’ to each question ** Overall Respondents whose diagnosis took… < 1 month 1 to 3 months 3 to 6 months 6 months to 1 year > 1 year Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in deciding which treatment options were best for you? 3,124 15% 14% 16% 14% 22% 30% Have you always been given enough information about your cancer care and treatment, in a way that you could understand? 3,650 31% 24% 38% 36% 44% 44% Have you always been given enough information, in a way that you could understand, about signs and symptoms to look out for that your cancer might be returning/getting worse? 2,627 35% 30% 40% 31% 48% 51% Were you given information about patient groups, charities and other organisations that might be able to support you through your diagnosis and care? 3,717 41% 40% 43% 41% 54% 52% Table 1. Respondents’ negative perceptions of information and support, by time taken to receive diagnosis * Total number of people who responded to each question ** Interpreting this table: the ‘Overall’ column gives the proportion of all respondents who answered ‘no’ to each question in the first column, and the other columns are broken down by the time taken to diagnose the cancer. For example, 15% of respondents overall reported that they were not involved as much as they wanted to be in deciding which treatment options were best for them; for those diagnosed in less than one month, this figure was 14%, but for those whose diagnosis took more than one year, it was 30%. Patient insights on cancer care: opportunities for improving efficiency