Pharmacy consultation outcomes during a lung cancer awareness campaign

Lung cancer remains a condition that is frequently diagnosed too late for optimum prognosis [1]. Several factors seem to contribute to this, but there is good evidence that response to potential symptoms of lung cancer and awareness of the condition varies between men and women. This is believed to contribute to delayed diagnosis in men, with reluctance to report minor symptoms to a general medical practitioner (GP) identified as one cause [2]. In response to this, audit data from a two week health improvement campaign undertaken by 29 pharmacies in North West London during Lung Cancer Awareness Month in 2013, was subjected to analysis that included gender as a variable. The results suggest that this analysis was justified.