3.1.2 Unnecessary worry relating to cancer investigations
Unnecessary worry or anxiety could be generated by increased number of cancer investigations. This relates to the concept of ‘patient needs, and resources’ expressed within the CFIR.10 Indeed, service users and practitioners agreed that people might worry if it was not explained to them that the tool provided a risk assessment rather than a cancer diagnosis:
“Some people may not understand and they can be too worried especially if they don’t explain that it is just a risk but it is not guaranteed that they will get cancer, then it is not good enough ethically” (Service User 11, individual interview).
“The thing is if you tell the patient they’ve got 1% cancer, which is creating unnecessary anxiety, they will say doctor, you said I have got 1% chance of getting cancer and you are not doing anything about it” (Practitioner 2 [GP]: individual interview); “you can probably make them more worried” (Practitioner 16 [Practice Nurse]: FG 2).