Health

Doctors to Scan Thousands of Medical Records to Catch Silent Killer Early

Published on June 19, 2025

Thousands of over-60s across England are about to get a potentially life-saving call from their GP. A major new NHS pilot scheme is being launched, and it’s all about catching pancreatic cancer early — long before most people even know it’s there.

More than 300 GP surgeries are gearing up to go through patient records with a fine-tooth comb, looking out for certain red flags. These include recent cases of diabetes that seem to come out of nowhere or a sudden unexplained drop in weight. If anything suspicious pops up, patients will be fast-tracked for further checks including urgent blood tests and CT scans, reported the Express.

This isn’t your everyday check-up. Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease in the UK, ranking as the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths. The survival stats are grim — only about 7 percent of people make it past five years after diagnosis. That’s mostly because it rarely shows symptoms until it’s already advanced. The aim of this new scheme is simple but powerful: catch it early and improve those odds.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, didn’t mince words. “Pancreatic cancer is responsible for so many deaths because patients don’t usually notice symptoms until the cancer is at an advanced stage, which is why we need to find new ways to pick it up,” he said. He stressed that the NHS is no longer content to wait for symptoms to appear and is instead going on the offensive by actively searching for people who may be ill but don’t know it yet.

He added, “If your GP practice identifies you as at risk of pancreatic cancer, I urge you to come forward for testing as soon as possible.”

The rollout has already begun at several practices, and the plan is for hundreds more to get involved by the autumn. If it all goes to plan, around 1,000 people could be identified and called in for testing. From that group, it’s expected that at least 250 cases of pancreatic cancer will be caught early — which, in this context, could mean the difference between life and death.

Alfie Bailey-Bearfield from Pancreatic Cancer UK welcomed the move, calling early diagnosis “the single biggest difference to improving survival.” He was clear about the stakes, saying, “Many of the people who are referred for a CT scan during the pilot will not have pancreatic cancer, but for those that do, the impact could be lifesaving.”

And this could just be the beginning. If the pilot proves successful, there’s already talk of expanding it nationwide, potentially giving thousands more people across the country a better shot at surviving one of the toughest cancers to treat.

Health minister Karin Smyth, who has personally faced cancer, spoke openly about what this scheme could mean. “This targeted approach to identify people at risk of one of the most lethal cancers could give more people a fighting chance and spare the heartbreak of countless families.”

For now, the message is clear. If you’re over 60 and get invited for testing, don’t wait. It could be one of the most important health decisions you ever make.

Don’t Miss These: