Early cancer detection receives $1.6m lift.

Your survival prospects following a cancer diagnosis should not be determined by your postcode.

This article was written by Zach Relph and published by the Kalgoorlie Miner on 19 October 2017.

The State’s leading not-for-profit cancer support and research group has been allocated $1.6 million in funding to bolster cancer awareness in regional WA.

Health Minister Roger Cook confirmed Cancer Council WA’s Find Cancer Early initiative would receive the funds while unveiling extensions to the charity’s Crawford Lodge yesterday.

The awareness campaign is conducted in regional WA, including the Goldfields, in an attempt to promote awareness of the early signs and symptoms of bowel, lung, prostate and breast cancer.

Cancer Council Find Cancer Early co-ordinator Hannah Cauchi said the campaign was designed to improve cancer outcomes.

“Six years on from the launch of the Find Cancer Early campaign in Kalgoorlie and Esperance in November, 2011, we are delighted to have received funding to resume the campaign in regional Western Australia,” she said.

“Ignoring the warning signs and allowing the cancer to spread can make treatment more difficult and reduce the chances of survival, so the quicker you can react to potential symptoms, the better your chance of successful treatment.”

Cancer Council WA chief executive Ashley Reid said the initiative addressed a disparity between rural and metropolitan cancer patients.

“Your survival prospects following a cancer diagnosis should not be determined by your postcode,” he said.

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