Hey Minister, How About Saving 700 Lives?

The Health Minister has allocated many millions of dollars in recent days for primary healthcare and bowel cancer, which is very welcome, but so far can’t find anything in the cupboard for the 700 men who die each year of prostate cancer.

“Everyone agrees that the earlier a cancer is detected, the better the clinical outcomes for individual patients. And it's generally cheaper to treat cancer earlier on than later on. So its a win-win! However it appears that perhaps the government may think differently about prostate cancer?” said Peter Dickens, chief executive of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.

“While it’s admirable that Minister Brown has increased the eligibility for bowel cancer screening, funded more kiwis to train as doctors, and injected $285 million into general practice, it’s disappointing that once again there’s nothing for men at risk of dying of prostate cancer.”

The Prostate Cancer Foundation is asking for an initial investment of only $6.4 million over four years to establish a prostate cancer screening pilot in Waitemata and Tairāwhiti. Lessons learned would support a national screening programme eventually. An NZIER report shows that the return on this investment is compelling. It compares very well on a value of money basis to some other health interventions.

It's frustrating that successive Ministers seem to be ignoring the benefit of allocating a miniscule part of the $30 billion health budget to reduce prostate cancer death and harm for our dads, brothers, partners and sons.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

“What are we waiting for? More than 700 men die each year of prostate cancer, and about 4,000 are diagnosed. These numbers are increasing and forecast to double by 2044. Between 2015-2019, there were 19,132 diagnoses of prostate cancer, but between 2040 and 2044, researchers are projecting 42,009 will be diagnosed[1].

“But despite the death toll and two national screening programmes for women, the government hasn't yet committed to funding a screening programme for a cancer that is specific to men.”

After the government last year found $600 million for Pharmac, the Health Minister made further announcements this week at ‘In Pursuit’, a cancer conference with an agenda dominated by diseases such as breast, bowel and cervical cancer – all of which have large screening programmes – and lung cancer, likely to be next screening cab off the rank.

At the conference, Te Aho o Te Kahu Cancer Control Authority chief executive Rami Rahal said if we think we’re having trouble now, in 20 years’ we’re not going to be able to cope if we keep doing things the same way.

“Rami is 100 percent correct. That’s why it’s essential to get moving on a PSA-based screening pilot in two regions. A prostate cancer screening programme starting with simple blood tests will halve the number of deaths from prostate cancer,” Mr Dickens said.

Note:

[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877782124000146

© Scoop Media