A new Federal Government report shows that CANCER death rates for men from the rural areas are 10 per cent higher than for city men.

Despite The fact that cancer survival rates are improving overall, the new data shows glaring differences between the recovery and death rate of men living in rural areas and their urban counterpart.

The number of people diagnosed with cancer in Australia has risen from 78,857 new cases in 1996 to 88,962 in 2001 and an estimated 106,000 last year, according to the report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australasian Association of Cancer Registries.

The data found that factors such as increased sun exposure, higher smoking rates and delaying visits to a doctor put rural people at greater risk.

"Men had significantly higher rates of cancers diagnosed in advanced stages," Dr Mark Short, of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, said.

Dr Mark Short, from the institute's cancer monitoring unit said rates of melanoma and lung, head, neck and lip cancers were significantly higher in rural and remote areas than in metropolitan regions between 2001 and 2003.

"(This) underscores the importance of getting regular health checks from their doctors to increase the likelihood of early detection of cancer."

In 2003, prostate cancer overtook colorectal cancer as the most common cancer among Australians, followed by breast cancer, melanoma and lung cancer.

Between 1993 and 2003, the cancers which increased the most in number were thyroid cancer (106 per cent), myeloma (44 per cent), melanoma (41 per cent), kidney cancer (39 per cent) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (36 per cent).

The incidence of smoking-related cancers has fallen in recent years, but cigarette smoking is still a major cause of cancer in Australia. Smoking is estimated to have directly caused 10,800 new cases of cancer.

Altho
'"/>




Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Fibroids unlikely to Turn Cancerous
2. Virus Level could Predict Cervical Cancer Risk
3. Cancer Doctors Okays Controversial Prostate Therapy
4. Potential New Cancer Gene Identified
5. Consensus on "Combination Therapy" for Breast Cancer
6. Cancers of Colon & Rectum linked to Cigarette Smoking
7. Life Saving Cancer Drugs – From Chicken! Possible Says Dolly’ Creatos
8. The Cancer Rumour mill working over time
9. Cancer drugs in development nearly doubled since 1995
10. Radioactive Seeds used in Prostate Cancer treatment can migrate with the body
11. Cancer patients turning to Internet for information