Over 116,000 cancer patients have shared their impressions of cancer services for The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2015, commissioned by NHS England.
Of those respondents who said that they had had radiotherapy
during the last 12 months:
86% agreed completely that they had all the information they needed beforehand
But only 60% said that once they started their treatment they were given enough information about whether their radiotherapy was working, in a way they could understand.
The survey also found that:
Asked to rate their care on a scale of zero (very poor) to 10 (very good), respondents gave an average rating of 8.7
78% of respondents said that they were definitely involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment
87% of respondents said that, overall, they were always treated with dignity and respect while they were in hospital
94% of respondents said that hospital staff told them who to contact if they were worried about their condition or treatment after they left hospital
63% of respondents said that they thought the GPs and nurses at their general practice definitely did everything they could to support them while they were having cancer treatment.
Respondents were also asked about their experience during the diagnosis of their illness.
The majority of respondents (88%) said that they had had one or more diagnostic tests (such as an endoscopy, biopsy, mammogram, or scan) in the last 12 months.
When asked about their last diagnostic test, 89% of respondents said that they had all the information they needed about their test.
A further 87% of respondents said that they felt the amount of time they had to wait for this (last) test to be done was about right.