Episode 013: Why The GP Is Your Best Ally In Your War On Cancer
May 02, 2018•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode description
When it comes to cancer, we are so focused on the specialist who’s treating you, and rightly so because your oncologist or surgeon or your urologist is absolutely crucial in getting you through it. But what about the general practitioner, the family doctors, what role do they play and how can they help you in your fight against cancer? Right now, you’re going to hear from Jon Emery, the professor of primary care cancer research at the University of Melbourne. Jon will reveal why the GP is your best ally in your war on cancer and is going to set the record straight on cancer and how it relates to primary care, including:
Proven online resources to find the right information on cancer
The fear of cancer recurrence
The role of GP as advisor and counsellor
How primare care can help after cancer
How can primary care physicians pick up cancer early
Why Big Data and artificial intelligence can help GPs to detect cancer
Why the GP is your best ally in your war on cancer
Links
Jon Emery Academic Profile
Survivorship care in general practice: supporting patients to live well
Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre
Better Health Channel
Cancer Council Victoria
Episode 009: Why The Oncologist Is Your Guide Through Cancer
Full Transcript
Joe: Jon, first I really want to ask you, the family doctor, the general practitioner, this is really the first line of defence against cancer. It’s up to him or her to understand what’s going on, to send you for tests, to forward you to the right specialists. How can primary care physicians pick up cancer early?
Jon: There are two ways, really, to think about earlier detection of cancer. One is through screening tests. These are tests that are offered to people without symptoms and then they are obviously trying to detect people when they present with symptoms that may be due to cancer and investigating those symptoms. Maybe if we just start by thinking about screening tests. There are three national screening programs. They are the programs that the government funds because they’re very strongly based on evidence and they’re the screening programs for cervical, breast, and bowel cancer.
The GP has an important role in ensuring people are up to date with their screening tests. Particularly promoting some of the tests which are not being very well-used at the moment. The bowel cancer screen test is probably the most relevant in that context. At the moment, it’s sent in the post once you hit 50 and only 39 percent of people actually bother to do it.
Joe: Wow, that’s pretty crazy.
Jon: Yes. GPs can play an important role in reminding patients that the test will be coming soon and encouraging them to do it. It’s a very effective test and ensuring that your patients are up to date with those screening tests are an important strategy in early detection. The bowel screening test is the one that’s least well-used, it’s probably got the strongest evidence for it in terms of detecting cancers early and preventing early deaths from those cancers. If you think about symptoms, this is where it’s more challenging. The majority of cancers, even for those where we have a screening test, they present with symptoms.
Most of the patients, when they develop the symptoms, they go to see their GP. It’s challenging because the symptoms of most common cancers are also symptoms of much more benign, non-cancerous conditions. That’s where it becomes very difficult. In medicine, we talk about something called, “Red flag symptoms”. These are the symptoms that you really need to think about cancer is a possible cause of them. Things like obviously a breast lump, rectal bleeding, coughing up blood, blood in your urine, losing weight is particularly in the context of other symptoms.
Those are symptoms that should make you think about a possible cancer diagnosis and investigate.
