There are fears almost 4000 Victorians are unknowingly living with cancer screening and testing for the disease dropped off during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An estimated 3864 fewer cancer cases were diagnosed than expected by December last year, according to the newly-released Victorian Cancer Registry’s 2021 report.
The drop in recorded cases most likely does not mean there was less cancer, but that the disease had not been discovered in thousands of Victorians, Victorian Cancer Registry Director Professor Sue Evans has explained.
The cancer registry has estimated almost 850 bowel cancer cases have gone undiagnosed, as have more than 250 lung cancer cases.
Professor Evans has said the pandemic has continued to impact the number of people coming forward for screening and diagnosis in 2022.
She has warned it is critical that Victorians visit their doctors with any health concerns, do regular skin checks and get screenings when they are due.
She has said early detection and treatment are the best ways to improve the chance of surviving a cancer diagnosis.
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“If you leave it, it is not going to go away,” she said.
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“It will potentially get more difficult to treat and the survival outcome may also be impacted.”
A positive finding from the latest cancer reported was that for the first time, in 2021 the five-year cancer survival rate in Victoria was surpassed by 70 per cent of patients.
More than 128,000 Victorians are living with cancer diagnosed in the past five years, according to the report.
