'Act early' on bladder cancer
WA patients are waiting too long to have bladder cancer diagnosed and treated because of delays getting into specialists and surgery.
Research presented at a Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand conference in Adelaide yesterday found that many people failed to act on early symptoms of the cancer and then faced delays once they were referred for tests and treatment.
The study of 100 patients treated at Fremantle Hospital's specialist haematuria clinic found that almost one-quarter waited more than two weeks to see their GP after noticing blood in their urine - a common symptom of bladder cancer.
Even once they saw their doctor and got a referral, 36 per cent of patients took at least a month to go to the hospital clinic for further tests, while one in 10 missed their referral.
They then faced further delays at the hospital getting assessed or on to surgery waiting lists.
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Bladder cancer is a common and life-threatening cancer that causes a similar number of deaths in men as the skin cancer melanoma. It is difficult to treat once it is advanced.
There were almost 300 new cases in WA in 2013, and 118 deaths from the cancer, three times as many in men as women.
Urological Society president-elect Mark Frydenberg said that patients and doctors were underestimating the significance of haematuria, or blood in the urine, leading to unnecessary delays in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.
In particular it was important patients with suspect symptoms had a cystoscopy, which uses a scope to examine the bladder.
WA urologist Dickon Hayne, who did the study, said that while people needed to be more aware of the symptoms of bladder cancer there were also messages for the broader medical community.
"I was surprised the majority of delays actually came after referral, suggesting providers need to divert more resources towards the timely investigation of haematuria," Professor Hayne said.
