A University of Cambridge poll found 70% of people fear a late cancer diagnosis.
The survey asked 2,012 U.K. adults in May 2024 about their healthcare fears.
The survey found seven in 10 respondents fear being diagnosed with cancer too late and 52% fret about the impact of a cancer diagnosis on loved ones. Four in 10 respondents worry about access to treatment and 36% are concerned about treatment side effects.
When asked what would make a cancer diagnosis less fearful, 60% said knowing that the form of cancer is treatable and 51% said knowing physicians are better at catching cancer early enough to treat. Thirty-two percent also said knowing many facilities research ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer eases their fear.
Older respondents were less fearful of a cancer diagnosis than younger ones: 14% of people over 65 expressed fear of a diagnosis, compared with26% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 29% of 25- to 34-year-olds.
When presented with undesirable future events, only one was more worrisome than a cancer diagnosis: death of a loved one at 72%. A cancer diagnosis was more worrisome than nuclear war (56%), terrorism (53%) or being the victim of a crime (52%).
Fifty-five percent of respondents favored using AI to speed up cancer research for new treatments, 47% to help physicians diagnose cancer and 41% to help physicians to decide what treatment would work best.