Going to your GP

Cancer is rare in young people. Therefore when a GP sees a young person with certain signs or symptoms they tend to think of the more common possible causes of these signs and symptoms first. e.g. when a girl with a swollen stomach presents to her GP, the GP is more like to start thinking 'pregnancy?' than 'ovarian cancer?'. Other young people said that that their doctor was baffled by their symptoms, and dismissed them as 'growing pains', or put them down to things like 'exam stress'.

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Says that her GP could not make out what her symptoms were due to and suggested that she should go to the hospital for tests.
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His GP initially thought he had a virus (such as glandular fever) but he was referred to hospital by another doctor at the practice.
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Her GP consulted with another colleague because he wasn't sure what was causing the lump in her stomach.

Young people were often not tested until after they had visited their doctor several times or when they or their parents started to think there must be something more seriously wrong. Parents sometimes went with the young person to the doctors to make sure their symptoms were taken seriously. 

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Visited her GP eight times in 6 months with headaches and neck aches and started to think she must be imagining her symptoms.
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His GP sent him for an X-ray when his blood test showed that it was not glandular fever.

People who do not have pain or discomfort may not be worried about their symptoms and may delay visiting their doctor for some time.

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Says that he was not really worried about the lump that developed in his neck and therefore delayed going to his GP.

If a GP suspects cancer they will arrange for tests or send the young person to see a hospital specialist (consultant). Looking back, some teenagers thought their GP was more concerned than they let on. Some GPs were very quick off the mark, while others took longer to refer or made non-urgent hospital referrals. Teenagers and their parents sometimes still felt angry towards their GPs for not taking her symptoms seriously.

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Feels that GPs should consider serious diagnosis earlier, even if it is unlikely because the patient is young.
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Says that his GP was 'pretty useless' but did refer him to a neurologist. He also explains that Ewings sarcoma is difficult to detect in the earlier stages.
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Believed he had a virus. Since his cancer is very rare he does not blame the GP for not sending him to hospital earlier.

Sometimes it was a nurse, physiotherapist or junior doctor who first picked up the symptoms. One young woman said that in comparison to her friends she considers herself lucky because she did not have to explain symptoms to doctors. Her ganglioneuroblatoma was discovered by 'chance' following recurrent back pain problems after a car accident. 

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Her physiotherapist noticed a lump when treating her for shoulder pain and recommended an X-ray.
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Is grateful to a junior doctor who picked up a sign of her brain tumour during an examination.
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Her GP initially thought she had an inflammation but when her symptoms worsened did a blood test.
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She did not had the problem of going to a GP and trying to explain her symptoms because her cancer was found 'by chance' when she was having her back problems investigated.

Last reviewed April 2010.

Last updated April 2010.

Teenage cancer

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