HEALTHWATCH Swindon has praised a cancer charity’s initiative to combat ‘fake news’ about the illness online.

Macmillan Cancer Support has appointed nurse Ellen McPake to answer cancer patients’ questions as more and more people take to Google to research their diagnoses.

The charity is concerned they are taking advice from unverified internet sites, putting themselves at risk of bogus cures and becoming needlessly frightened.

Their new digital nurse specialist will be monitoring Macmillan’s social media and online community to bust distressing myths, such as that chemotherapy is a bigger killer than cancer or that baking soda can cure breast cancer.

Healthwatch Swindon’s team manager Tori Jones said: “It is important for people to have access to clear and accurate information about their health and social care.

“The internet is one place that people are increasingly turning to for advice about their health needs, therefore it is important that the information they read is accurate and meets their needs.

“Measures to improve health information and reduce fake news can only be beneficial.”

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Swindon with lung, breast, prostate, oesophageal, pancreatic and rectal being the most common, according to a 2016 report by the council’s Health And Wellbeing Board.

More than 42 per cent of people with cancer look up information about their diagnoses online and approximately six per cent of Brits diagnosed with the illness were convinced they would die after reading about cancer on the internet, Macmillan research shows.

The charity says it acknowledges the usefulness of the internet for cancer patients but wants to help them separate the wheat from the chaff and avoid websites with incorrect or dangerous information.

It also wants healthcare professionals to be given more training about the information available to their patients online so they can point them to trusted sites.

Tori said: “If a health professional has given a patient a specific phone number to call when they are concerned about their condition they should use it.

“For less urgent health needs people could contact NHS 111, their GP, specialist or local pharmacist.

“We are always interested to hear feedback from local people about their healthcare experiences and we would like people to let us know if they have been given information from their doctor or healthcare specialist that they feel is clear and accurate, and which supports them to make informed choices through their experiences with cancer or other illnesses.”

Visit www.macmillan.org.uk.