Britons ‘require friendly push to see their GP’

More than one-third of people in the UK can be persuaded to go and see their GP about a change in their body that had been playing on their minds, according to a new study.

The YouGov survey for Cancer Research UK reveals that 40 percent of people said talking to a friend or relative helped convince them to take action, with women more likely to persuade men to do so than vice-versa.

Mothers were shown to be highly influential in pushing people to make an appointment, thus helping many to get any malignant conditions diagnosed early and increasing their chances of recovery.

This report coincides with the launch of a new online video campaign from Cancer Research UK and Tesco, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of reporting any unusual physical conditions to GPs as soon as possible.

Dr Claire Knight, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "Sometimes we need a bit of a nudge to make an appointment with a GP about any unusual or persistent changes to our bodies."

Cancer survival rates have improved dramatically in recent years thanks to earlier diagnosis and better treatments, as evidenced by recent figures showing there are now more than 33,000 long-term survivors of childhood cancer living in the UK.