THE Worcester-based national charity Leukaemia CARE is aiming to alert people across the country to the symptoms of blood cancer in a bid to increase the levels of early diagnosis.

September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month and the charity wants members of the public to have a greater understanding of the symptoms, which can often be mistaken for other conditions.

Leukaemia CARE is also taking the opportunity to launch a new GP eLearning project designed to help support doctors to spot the signs and symptoms of blood cancer earlier.

The new online training course, which is free to use, is set to radically improve the rate of early diagnosis and bring the UK in line with EU standards. It could save 1,000 a year.

The blood cancer support charity has worked with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to develop the course in a bid to deliver better outcomes for the 34,000 people diagnosed with blood cancers in the UK each year.

Together, blood cancers like leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma are statistically Britain’s fifth biggest cancer threat and third highest cancer killer.

However, many of the symptoms such as fatigue, night sweats, joint pain, bruising and recurring infections are associated with a number of other medical conditions. As a result a third of blood cancers are diagnosed via the emergency admissions route – including accident and emergency departments.

Leukaemia CARE says research shows that early diagnosis has a major impact on survival rates e.g. the one year survival rate for myeloma patients diagnosed following a GP referral stands at 83.6 per cent but falls to 53.1per cent if diagnosis is delayed until the emergency admissions route.

While online courses for GPs are available for other major cancers, this is the first of its kind for all blood cancers. It combines information on how to recognise the symptoms with case studies and like all RCGP training courses carries Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points – which GPs must complete to demonstrate that they are meeting the standards set by the General Medical Council.

Esther Wroughton, care director at Leukaemia CARE, said: “Many of the symptoms of blood cancer can easily be confused with the symptoms of other less serious conditions or illnesses such as viral infections like flu, particularly in the early stages. We need to ensure that GPs are given every opportunity to look for and recognise these symptoms earlier, or to identify clusters of symptoms that should be highly suggestive of a diagnosis of blood cancer.

“We also need to be aware of the fact that most GPs will only see one or two cases each year – making diagnosis all the more difficult.

“This new online course is designed to help doctors spot the signs and symptoms more quickly and more easily, ensuring that they make early referrals for the blood tests needed to confirm diagnosis. That early diagnosis will improve the future overall survival prospects for many blood cancer patients.

“We hope it will be a game-changer in diagnosing all types of blood cancer, and would like to thank everyone who has helped us to raise the funds to invest in such a vital tool.”

Dr Ishani Patel, RCGP clinical lead for early diagnosis of cancer and quality improvement, said: “Blood cancer is very difficult to diagnose in primary care but it has the third biggest cancer death rate in the UK, so it is essential that healthcare professionals are supported to identify the signs and symptoms of blood cancer so that they can deliver as timely a diagnosis as possible.

“We hope that this new online training course will become an invaluable resource for GPs and their teams and support them in providing excellent care to patients with blood cancer through their diagnosis and beyond.”

As part of its work to raise awareness during Blood Cancer Awareness Month, Leukaemia CARE is urging people to think T.E.S.T when it comes to remembering the common symptoms of blood cancer – Tiredness, Excessive sweating, Sore bones and joints, Terrible bruising and bleeding.

The charity is urging anyone experiencing one, some or all of these symptoms to see their GP. For more information, visit leukaemiacare.org.uk

Case history

NINETEEN-year-old student Ellie Philpotts from Kidderminster is currently starting her second year at Cardiff University studying English Literature and journalism.

But five years ago her prospects seemed less positive as she struggled with her health. She had been feeling unwell for some time but her symptoms were getting worse – she was experiencing severe night sweats, extreme breathlessness, fatigue and loss of appetite. She was losing weight and discovered a lump in her neck. Prior to this she had experienced minor symptoms like itchy hands and feet and a little tiredness.

Ellie eventually visited her GP and received an initial diagnosis of glandular fever, a winter virus, asthma of flu. However, after taking the prescribed drugs, using an inhaler and going back to her GP twice as her symptoms worsened, she was eventually hospitalised.

Eight days later, after being sent to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Ellie was diagnosed with stage 2B Hodgkin Lymphoma – formerly known as Hodgkins disease, it is a malignant cancer affecting a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes.

Unlike leukaemia, in lymphoma the cancer cells are found in organs and tissues of the lymphatic system which is an important part of the immune system.

Ellie was relieved to have a clear diagnosis that would enable her to receive the correct treatment and knowing Hodgkin Lymphoma is generally receptive to treatment was also a help, although knowing it was cancer was hard to process, and she did not know any other teenager who had it.

Over the next four months Ellie underwent four cycles of chemotherapy. Steroids and tablet chemo were tough at times, however she tried to keep her life as normal as possible. Keeping to a routine helped her to maintain a sense of control over her life and she continued to go to school as much as possible to study for her GCSEs.

In May 2011 Ellie finished her treatment and went into remission, where she has remained ever since. She is now very active with cancer charities, such as Leukaemia CARE, to raise awareness of blood cancers and their symptoms and help people to spot them sooner.