ThinkCancer

What is ThinkCancer!? 

Sometimes people get diagnosed with cancer later than we would like. This can be because there can be delays in people being sent to have more tests which aren’t able to be carried out in the surgery.  There are lots of reasons why this happens.  

Our aim is to help people who work in your local surgery, not just the doctor themselves, recognise possible cancers earlier which will lead to better outcomes for patients.  

 We have come up with a new and unique training package for people in doctors’ surgeries called ‘ThinkCancer!’. This involves three workshops for all staff in a surgery. We have tested ‘ThinkCancer!’ in a small number of surgeries in Wales, which showed that it can work well. We learnt important lessons about how the workshops should be delivered, and the best ways to collect information from surgeries.  

 Now we would like to understand what people themselves think about their experiences of going to their doctor for a possible cancer symptom and being sent to hospital for further tests. We would like to invite these people to take part in a one-to-one interview with someone from our research team.  

Why have I been chosen to take part? 

Eligible patients have been sent a text message inviting them to participate in this study, this is because you have been invited to take part because you have been identified by your doctor as having been sent for more tests to see whether your symptoms were as a result of you possibly having cancer.  This does not mean that you were actually diagnosed with cancer, it just means you were given tests to get more information about your symptoms.  

What is involved if I decide to take part? 

Taking part is entirely voluntary and you can stop at any time. You will be given time to think about this information sheet and decide whether or not you would like to take part. If you would like to take part, then someone from the Bangor University research team will arrange a time and place that works for you to carry out the interview. This can be in your own home or on the telephone or online.  

You will be asked to complete a form on the day to make sure that you understand what the interview is about and that you agree to take part.  

The interview will last about 60 minutes and the researcher will ask you about your what it was like seeing your doctor when you first had symptoms, what it was like being sent to hospital for further tests and getting the results of those tests You will also be asked about how your experience could have been improved.  

You may also be asked if you would like to ask another person such as a family member or friend who has supported you during this experience to be interviewed as well. They don’t have to take part if they don’t want to and you do not have to nominate anybody if you do not wish to.  

The interview will be audio recorded. Someone will then listen to the recording and write down your words so they can be read by other members of the research team.  The team will use your experience to learn about how going to the doctor and being sent for tests could be improved in the future. 

Will my taking part be confidential? 

All information collected will be kept strictly confidential. However, if the research team learns something that they think might have put someone at risk, then they will let someone in an appropriate organisation know who will be able to take a closer look at the situation you have mentioned.  

When your words have been written up, all the things you said will be kept anonymous – that means that no one will be able to tell that it is you who has said these things. The research team may use anonymised quotes from the interview in future publications. The recordings will not be heard by anyone other than the ThinkCancer! research team and people from Bangor University whose job it is to listen to recordings and type them up.  

How will my data be protected?  

There is a law that tells us how we should look after information about you.  We make sure that we protect your information so that we meet the standards set out in the law. We will use a password on all the recordings we make so no one can listen other than those who work on the team.  All our computers at the University are safe and all the recording devices will be checked to make sure what you have said is deleted once we have written up the words.  Everything will be taken off our computers five years after the study has ended. 

What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?  

We don’t think there will be any problems, but we do know that it might be upsetting for you to tell us about what happened to you. If you find the interview too difficult you are able to pause or stop it at any time.  

What are the possible benefits of taking part?  

Although there are no direct benefits to you of taking part in this study, the information you give us will be used to help us look for ways to improve things for people in the future.   

What will happen to the results of the study? 

The results of the study will be published in medical journals and presented at academic and medical conferences. We hope that the results of the study will be useful for the NHS and they will be able to use the ThinkCancer! education package in more surgeries to help staff recognise cancer earlier.  

Who is organising and funding this research? 

ThinkCancer! is led by the North Wales Centre for Primary Care Research at Bangor University in partnership with colleagues at Cardiff University, The University of Liverpool and Exeter University. ThinkCancer! is funded by Cancer Research Wales and North-West Cancer Research.  

Who has reviewed the study? 

ThinkCancer! has been designed with patient and public involvement and has been reviewed and approved by Bangor University Ethics Committee and by Wales REC 1 Research Ethics Committee and was granted a favourable opinion on 04/05/2023.    

Thank you for taking the time to read and think about this information. If you would like to take part in the interview or if you have any questions about the project, then please fill in and return the attached reply slip or contact the research team using the contact details below.  

Contact details  

Further information about the study can be found on our website: http://wicked.bangor.ac.uk/

Twitter: @Think_Cancer  

Please feel free to contact us using the contact details below: 

Trial manager: Nic Nikolic 

Chief Investigator: Professor Clare Wilkinson