[Angus]

It makes no difference even if you do take notice of early signs and go to the doctor if, like my poor brother last year, you are told it's just IBS, or gastroenteritis. Finally after being fobbed off by his doctor for months and after several delayed hospital appointments and lengthy waits for scans, he was then told he had terminal cancer and had just weeks to live. Yes, a true story. Having been to his GP in July 2010 with early signs of adrenocortical cancer, by the time it was diagnosed it was too far advanced for him to have any treatment other than palliative. It took them till May 2011 to diagnose and he died last July.

So it's not always because people don't recognise there's something not right with themselves, it's often also about doctors misdiagnosing because a certain set of symptoms conveniently fit something more easily treatable. I would suggest that if anyone is not happy with a GP's diagnosis they always seek a second and even third opinion. Doctors are fallible, but some are better than others.