A Be Clear on Cancer roadshow visited Aycliffe this week to highlight the key symptoms of bladder and kidney cancers amongst the public, as the next phase of the NHS campaign is launched.
Figures show that 195 people were diagnosed with kidney or bladder cancer, and 83 people died of the diseases, in County Durham in 2010. The event aimed to drive awareness of blood in pee, even if it appears just the once as a key symptom of bladder and kidney cancers, and to encourage those who notice the symptom to visit their GP.
Blood in pee could be a symptom of both cancers. However, a recent survey shows that the public don’t recognise the seriousness of the sign – almost a third (30 per cent) of people in the North East would wait and see if they spotted blood in their pee again before taking any action, which could delay their diagnosis.
Early diagnosis is crucial to saving lives but not enough people are diagnosed at an early stage. When diagnosed at the earliest stage, one-year survival for bladder and kidney cancers is as high as 92-97%. Yet at a late stage, this drops to just 25-34%.
