A Visit to the ER Can Often Precede a Cancer Diagnosis [Video]

Key Takeaways

A cancer diagnosis is preceded by a visit to the emergency department in about a third of casesOften the symptoms that drive a person to visit the ED are caused by the underlying cancerIt can be very ‘distressing’ to get your cancer diagnosis in a crowded emergency department, one researcher noted

TUESDAY, Nov. 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Canadian researchers have found that about 1 in every 3 people newly diagnosed with cancer experienced at least one emergency department visit sometime during the three months prior to their diagnosis.

Many of the visits ended up being caused by symptoms related to the cancer, noted a team led by Dr. Keerat Grewal, an emergency physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

Unfortunately, many patients are first told they might have a malignancy as they are being cared for in a busy emergency room.

“The emergency department is not an ideal environment to manage …