Patients diagnosed with haematological cancers are the least likely to understand their diagnosis, according to a new analysis.
The charity Bloodwise called for more efforts to help patients understand these kinds of cancer following its analysis of findings of the NHS England national survey of patient experience of cancer care.
This found that 4% of those diagnosed with haematological cancers said they left the consultation with the doctor giving the diagnosis with no understanding at all of the disease.
According to the survey 59% of these patients said they completely understood the diagnosis they were given.
This compared with average findings of 73% of all cancer patients saying they had full understanding. 69,000 people took part in the survey last year.
Sarah Porch, from Bloodwise, said: “If people do not understand their diagnosis, then they are not in a position to ask informed questions about their condition or to explain their disease to their loved ones.
“This is why it is deeply worrying that only six out of 10 people with blood cancer come away from their diagnosis fully understanding what is wrong with them.
“Blood cancer is a complicated disease that is less understood than some of the other common types of cancer. So it’s important to look at ways to improve how this information is explained to make it as understandable as possible, as well as making sure that everyone is also offered written information about their cancer.”
Source: Bloodwise
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