Woman told she had blood cancer on eve of wedding as report reveals Black and Asian patients' diagnosis delays

Black and Asian blood cancer patients are four times more likely to face delays in diagnosis, an “alarming” new report has revealed.

Research from Blood Cancer UK, shared exclusively with The Independent, found 45% of people from ethnic minority communities said they have had to visit their GP three or more times before referral for testing.

Bansri Dhokia, 32, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in July 2020, on the eve of her wedding and during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. But she only received the diagnosis after a number of false starts.

Speaking to The Independent, the former business analyst, whose illness has left her disabled, said she feels she wasn’t listened to enough and initially felt that her symptoms were dismissed.

“The delay in my diagnosis may have been because it was at the start of the Covid pandemic, so maybe my symptoms were harder to explain over the phone and it was difficult to get an in-person appointment,” Ms Dhokia said. “My heavy bleeding - which is a symptom of blood cancer - was explained by a heavy period, while the fatigue was explained by possible anaemia.”

Researchers are therefore calling for the NHS to launch a targeted monitoring programme for people at higher risk of developing blood cancer.

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Source: The Independent, 15 September 2024

The theme of this year's World Patient Safety Day is 'Improving diagnosis for patient safety'. Read some of the blogs we have published on the hub on safe diagnosis and the impact of delayed diagnosis:

• “Listening to a patient’s history for longer can help doctors make the right diagnosis”
• Rheumatoid arthritis: would my life be different if I had been diagnosed sooner?
• Jenny, and why we must learn from her misdiagnosis of pulmonary embolism