A consultant diagnosed with lung cancer at just 38 years of age has told of her “complete shock” about it.
She told of her experience as a surgery for the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce (LSCT) carried out by Sapio Research found only 1% of people are aware of the symptoms of liver cancer from a list given to them.
More than 90,000 people are diagnosed with lung, liver, brain, stomach, pancreatic, and oesophageal cancer every year - accounting for more than 67,000 deaths.
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Symptoms of liver cancer can include a loss of appetite, unexpected weight loss, and tiredness. Lung cancer on the other hand can present as a persistent cough, chest pain, or coughing up blood.
Ruthra Coventry, a consultant anaesthetist from Aberdeen, was given the "shock" diagnosis in 2018.
Speaking on Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Day, Dr. Coventry said: "I was only 38 years old when I was diagnosed with lung cancer, which came as a complete shock despite being a doctor.
"I had been suffering from recurrent chest infections, which I just put down to having a toddler bringing home from nursery.
"I finally decided to get checked out after having an episode of such excruciating chest pain that I had to go to accident and emergency."
Dr. Coventry said she was now "clear of any cancer" four years post-surgery, and said her experience should emphasise to others how important it is to get checked early if you have any doubts.
"Don't go by stereotypes of who you think lung cancer patients are - I was fit and healthy running around after my two-year-old.", she added.
Dr. Paul Brennan, a consultant neurosurgeon at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, said the symptoms of some diseases "can be difficult to spot".
Commenting on the need for awareness, Dr. Paul Brennan, a consultant neurosurgeon at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh said: "The symptoms of less survivable cancers such as brain tumours can be challenging to spot, or even non-existent until the later stages of the disease.
"Despite this, public awareness of the common signs is crucial if we're going to tackle the problem of late diagnosis.
"As well as this, we need more emphasis and investment in research for treatment and prevention of these cancers if we're going to increase survival chances."
The LSCT works to raise awareness of six less survivable forms of the disease - lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic, and stomach cancers - which have an average five-year survival rate of just 16%.
Together, they make up nearly half of all common cancer deaths in the UK, the task force says.
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