Delay in seeking advice for symptoms that potentially indicate bowel cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To document knowledge, behavior and experiences of adults regarding potential signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.


METHODS
Telephone interviews with 1332 randomly selected adults, using similar questions to a survey conducted in 1988.


RESULTS
Twenty three percent (n=306) of respondents reported that they had experienced blood in bowel motions and about one third of these reported that they did not seek medical advice at all.


CONCLUSIONS
As there has been no change in help seeking for potential symptoms of bowel cancer from similar studies conducted 15 years ago, there are concerns for encouraging behaviors that will result in the early detection of colorectal cancer.
Cockburn
Jill
J
Cancer Council NSW, Cancer Education Research Program, School of Medical Practice and Population Health, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. jillc@mail.newcastle.edu.au
Paul
Chris
C
Tzelepis
Flora
F
McElduff
Patrick
P
Byles
Julie
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors