What do you mean by vague symptoms?
Symptoms you should NEVER ignore are:
- If you have a cough for more than a couple of weeks or you cough up blood
- Increasing shortness of breath
- Change in your usual bowel habit
- Blood in your urine or poo
When we talk about vague symptoms what we mean is:
- You are losing weight without trying
- You have lost your appetite and just do not feel like eating
- Extreme tiredness
- Feeling sick all of the time
- A new type of pain such as in your tummy or bone pains
- Unexplained swelling of your tummy that is unusual for you
- Unexplained bruising of your skin
These are common symptoms and do not necessarily mean that you have a cancer.
We know that many people ignore symptoms and ‘hope for the best’.
The NHS experience of ‘vague symptoms clinics’ indicates that less than one in 10 people with vague symptoms end up with a cancer diagnosis. This does not mean you should ignore vague symptoms because for half of people with vague symptoms they resolve and no medical cause is identified and the other half will be diagnosed with another medical condition such as diabetes or heart disease.
The reason not to ignore vague symptoms is because we know that for a minority the symptoms or vague symptoms can be a clue as to an under lying cancer.
We know that in Gibraltar we have many cancers that are diagnosed later than we would like them to be and this means that we are less likely to be able to cure you of your cancer. The earlier we diagnose a cancer the more likely we are to be able to cure you of it.
This is why we are encouraging people to not to ignore your symptoms or if you have vague symptoms to go and see your GP and tell them about it.
The NHS runs ‘vague symptom /faster diagnosis/one stop shop clinics ’. How is this different here in Gibraltar?
We are fortunate in Gibraltar to have a single hospital and a single Primary Care Centre. This means that our doctors already work closely together and we do not have to navigate the organisational complexities that the NHS has where local GPs do not know their hospital consultant colleagues.
We already have in place symptom specific pathways for investigating specific symptoms such as a prolonged cough or change in bowel habit.
When our GPs are concerned about a patient with vague symptoms they may order a range of tests or discuss the case directly with their medical, surgical or radiological consultant colleagues to agree an exploratory or diagnostic pathway.
We have recently reviewed this approach and decided to move towards standardising this into a formal ‘vague symptoms pathway’.
If you have one of the vague symptoms specifically documented unintentional weight loss we have agreed that:
- You see your GP for an initial assessment where a history will be taken, you will be weighed and an initial range of tests undertaken that may include a CT scan
- You will then be booked back into see the same GP in 2-3 weeks to be weighed again and review all of the test results. Ideally, you will see the same GP again for continuity but if this is not possible it will be documented on the GP system that you are on a vague symptom pathway.
- Your case will be reviewed on a case by case basis by the GP working in close partnership with the hospital doctors to identify the right pathway for investigation for you
What can I do to reduce my risk of developing cancer?
There are some risk factors we can change and some we cannot such as our genetic risk for developing a cancer.
Your main personal risk factors for developing cancer are smoking, being overweight and not exercising and drinking too much alcohol.
Changing your lifestyle is difficult but there is support to help you including:
- The GHA offers a smoking cessation clinic. You are far more likely to have a successful quit attempt with support and you can directly book into a smoking cessation clinic via eGov.
- Dietary advice can be complicated with ‘new diets’ being published and promoted in the media. The NHS provides advice regarding how to achieve a balanced diet. If you have diabetes then Diabetes Gibraltar are offering free educational sessions to help you manage your diet: diabetesgib@gmail.com
- If you are concerned about your alcohol or drugs intake please discuss this with your GP. The GHA and Care Agency can assess your risk or you can self-refer to rehabilitation services.
Screening programs are important for helping detect a cancer early. If you are offered screening please take up the offer for breast, bowel and cervical screening.
If you have not responded previously and would now like to be screened please contact the screening program directly.
The GHA also offers well person checks through the Primary Care Centre where you can have your heart and blood pressure checked.
