Figures released by the Cancer Council’s Victorian Cancer Registry (VCR) found 2420 fewer Victorians were diagnosed with the most common cancer types in 2020, a fall of seven per cent compared to previous years. Prostate cancer became one of the most undiagnosed cancers last year following a 13 per cent drop in detected cases. Bowel, melanoma and oral cavity cancers make up more than half of the state’s diagnoses.cancer graphicVCR director Professor Sue Evans said the figures, compiled by the registry which was established to probe the pandemic’s impacts on cancer care in Victoria, meant more people were at risk of developing more aggressive cancers that could have been detected earlier. “The longer people leave getting diagnosed, usually, means more treatment that they’ll need to have to recover, and the possibility of the higher mortality associated with it,” Prof Evans said. While more Victorians are surviving cancer than ever before with the five-year survival rate hitting 70 per cent for the first time, approximately 31 Victorians die from cancer each day. Prof Evans said Melbourne’s longest lockdown, lasting 111 days between July and October, was responsible for the “steep decline” in diagnoses in 2020 because Victorians were not turning up to appointments.“There are people who are walking around Victoria with cancer and yet undiagnosed,” Prof Evans said. “The decline in oral cancers specifically may be associated with Victorians not having theirregular dental check-ups in 2020.”Vincent Lucas, 61, of Canterbury said he was “really quite lucky” to have detected both his prostate and kidney cancers early enough to avoid life threatening growth during the pandemic despite two “nightmare” diagnoses in February 2020. “Early detection has helped me enormously,” Mr Lucas said. “It was a bit of a nightmare. Men – as you’re getting older – really look after your health and start screening as soon as you can.”Cancer Council Victoria CEO Todd Harper said people needed to re-prioritise their health checks, with the world-first research expected to foreshadow the same worrying trend internationally. “This will have major implications for not only cancer outcomes in Victoria but also nationally and indeed internationally because what we’re seeing here is likely to be mirrored in other jurisdictions,” he said. “Cancer screening saves lives. It is one of the most effective ways to detect the early signs of cancer.”
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