A snap shot of cancer in Far North

CCQ Regional Office The CCQ of Far covers nearly a 2 Fred Moule Centre, quarter of Queensland (22% or 380,800 km ), including the 169 Aumuller Street most northern and north-west areas of the state. In 2011 it Bungalow Qld 4870. Phone: (07) 4047 5500 had a population of 269,753, which is 6% of Queensland’s Fax: (07) 3259 8478 total population.

The major population centres are , Innisfail and Tully, while Cooktown and are important tourist and industrial centres in the region. The majority of Queensland’s discrete Indigenous communities, for example , are located in Far North Queensland.

The nearest radiation treatment centre for cancer patients in Far North Queensland is Cairns (opened in 2011). Prior to this the closest radiotherapy facility was located in . The CCQ Regional Office for Far North Queensland is located in Cairns.

Region Characteristics (2011 data unless otherwise specified) Far North Queensland Queensland Per cent of population who ... … are female 49.3% 50.1% … are aged 50 years and over 30.2% 30.9% … are Indigenous1 16.1% 3.6% … speak another language at home1 13.7% 10.0% … live in remote areas 25.0% 4.9% … live within 2 hours drive of radiation treatment 78.6% 83.4% … live more than 6 hours drive from radiation treatment 10.7% 3.9% … live in disadvantaged areas 20.9% 12.1% … live in affluent areas 0.0% 16.4% Life Expectancy at birth (2002-2006) Males 77.3 years 78.9 years Females 82.8 years 83.7 years Persons 79.9 years 81.3 years

All Cancers* Male Female Persons2 Number diagnosed by year

Number of new cases per year: 741 540 1282 Chance of diagnosis by age 80:3 1 in 2.2 1 in 2.8 1 in 2.4 Median age at diagnosis: 65 yrs 62 yrs 64 yrs Percent surviving for 5 years: 60% 67% 63% Number of deaths per year: 273 175 449 Percent deaths before age 80: 76% 76% 76%

*See notes on page 4 for more details. 1. Regional boundaries for these data may differ slightly from other data in this document due to being based on a new Australian Bureau of Statistics geographical classification system. See http://www.abs.gov.au/geography for details. 2. Persons data may not equal the sum of males and females due to rounding. 3. Cancers with a lifetime risk above 1 in 5 have the value provided to one decimal point. 1

A snap shot of cancer in Far North Queensland

The 10 most common cancers diagnosed in Far North Queensland by sex, 2007-2011

Males Females

Five-year relative survival in Far North Queensland by type of cancer and sex, 2002-2011

Males Females

Note: Relative survival calculated using the period method, for persons aged 0-89 years at diagnosis. Data are for “at risk” cases in the period 2002-2011.

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A snap shot of cancer in Far North Queensland

Facts about the most common cancers

Number diagnosed by year Colorectal Cancer Male Female Persons1

Number of new cases per year: 102 65 167 Chance of diagnosis by age 80: 1 in 12 1 in 17 1 in 14 Median age at diagnosis: 67 yrs 68 yrs 67 yrs % surviving for 5 years: 64% 62% 63% Number of deaths per year: 34 24 57 Percent deaths before age 80: 70% 64% 68%

Lung Cancer Male Female Persons1

Number of new cases per year: 75 45 120 Chance of diagnosis by age 80: 1 in 16 1 in 23 1 in 18 Median age at diagnosis: 69 yrs 67 yrs 68 yrs Percent surviving for 5 years: 9% 12% 10% Number of deaths per year: 61 33 94 Percent deaths before age 80: 79% 82% 80%

Melanoma Male Female Persons1

Number of new cases per year: 96 57 153 Chance of diagnosis by age 85: 1 in 15 1 in 25 1 in 18 Median age at diagnosis: 62 yrs 56 yrs 60 yrs Percent surviving for 5 years: 90% 96% 92% Number of deaths per year: 13 ** ** Percent deaths before age 80: 78% 77% 77%

Female Breast Cancer Female

Number of new cases per year: 157 Chance of diagnosis by age 80: 1 in 9 Median age at diagnosis: 58 yrs Percent surviving for 5 years: 87% Number of deaths per year: 25 Percent deaths before age 80: 81%

Prostate Cancer Male

Number of new cases per year: 183 Chance of diagnosis by age 80: 1 in 7 Median age at diagnosis: 66 yrs Percent surviving for 5 years: 89% Number of deaths per year: 29 Percent deaths before age 80: 56%

See notes on page 4 for more details. Cancers with a lifetime risk above 1 in 5 have the value provided to one decimal point. 1. Persons data may not equal the sum of males and females due to rounding.

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A snap shot of cancer in Far North Queensland

More information for those who like the details Incidencea Five-year Mortalitya Average Annual rateb relative survivalc Average Annual rateb Type of Cancer number per year (per 100,000) (%) number per year (per 100,000) Males All invasive cancers 741 591 [572,611] 60 [58,61] 273 236 [224,249] Prostate cancer 183 142 [133,152] 89 [86,92] 29 29 [25,34] Colorectal cancer 102 83 [76,90] 64 [60,68] 34 30 [25,35] Melanoma 96 77 [70,84] 90 [87,93] 13 11 [9,14] Lung cancer 75 62 [56,69] 9 [7,12] 61 51 [46,57] Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 24 19 [16,23] 60 [52,68] 7 6 [4,8] Kidney cancer 19 15 [12,18] 62 [52,70] 8 6 [4,8] Oesophageal cancer 14 11 [9,14] 15 [9,22] 10 8 [6,11] Pancreatic cancer 14 11 [9,14] 2 [0,5] 14 11 [9,15] Bladder cancer 14 12 [9,15] 60 [51,69] 6 5 [4,8] Liver cancer 13 10 [8,13] 8 [3,14] 11 8 [6,11] Females All invasive cancers 540 437 [421,454] 67 [66,69] 175 149 [139,159] Breast cancer 157 122 [114,131] 87 [85,90] 25 20 [16,24] Colorectal cancer 65 55 [49,61] 62 [57,67] 24 20 [17,24] Melanoma 57 45 [40,51] 96 [93,99] ** ** Lung cancer 45 38 [33,43] 12 [8,16] 33 28 [24,33] Uterine cancer 30 23 [20,27] 80 [73,86] ** ** Thyroid cancer 16 13 [10,16] 94 [88,98] ** ** Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 16 13 [11,17] 67 [57,75] ** ** Pancreatic cancer 12 10 [8,13] 7 [3,14] 10 9 [7,12] Cervical cancer 11 9 [7,12] 71 [61,78] ** ** Ovarian cancer 11 9 [7,12] 48 [38,57] 7 6 [4,9] Personsd All invasive cancers 1282 514 [501,527] 63 [62,64] 449 190 [182,198] Prostate cancer 183 n.a. 89 [86,92] 29 n.a. Colorectal cancer 167 69 [64,74] 63 [60,66] 57 25 [22,28] Breast cancer (female) 157 n.a. 87 [85,90] 25 n.a. Melanoma 153 61 [56,65] 92 [90,95] ** ** Lung cancer 120 50 [46,54] 10 [8,12] 94 39 [36,43] Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 40 16 [14,19] 63 [57,69] ** ** Uterine cancer 30 n.a. 80 [73,86] ** ** Kidney cancer 30 12 [10,14] 66 [59,73] 9 4 [3,5] Pancreatic cancer 26 11 [9,13] 3 [2,6] 24 10 [8,12] Thyroid cancer 23 9 [7,10] 92 [86,96] ** **

Notes: a. Incidence and mortality data are averaged over the 5 year period from 2007-2011. b. Incidence and mortality rates have been directly age-standardised to the 2001 Australian Standard population, with 95% confidence intervals shown in brackets. c. Five-year relative survival calculated using the period method, for persons aged 0-89 years at diagnosis, with 95% confidence intervals shown in brackets. Estimates are for “at risk” cases in the period 2002-2011. d. Persons data may not equal the sum of males and females due to rounding.

Symbols: ** Incidence or mortality counts that averaged less than 5 per year (and the corresponding rates) have been suppressed to protect confidentiality. Counts and rates for persons have also been suppressed when necessary. n.a. = not applicable (rates for persons not applicable for sex-specific cancers).

Notes: 1. All data are sourced from the Queensland Cancer Registry. The access and use of these data for reporting purposes is subject to strict confidentiality and privacy constraints. 2. Trend lines for incidence numbers have been smoothed using the “Lowess” method. 3. Remote areas are defined by the ARIA+ classification (combines Remote and Very Remote). 4. Travelling times to radiation treatment are calculated using spatial and road network software, and are approximate based on the shortest road distances at the recommended speed limits. 5. “Affluent areas” are the 20% of most advantaged Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) and “Disadvantaged areas” are the 20% of most disadvantaged SLAs as defined by the SEIFA Index of Advantage and Disadvantage obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. 6. Census and population data obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. 7. “Percent survival” represents relative survival, which is the ratio of the time that cancer patients survive after being diagnosed with cancer to the expected survival of the general population, taking into account age, sex and year of diagnosis. This ratio is then multiplied by 100.

Disclaimer: The information in this publication should not be used as a substitute for advice from a properly qualified medical professional who can advise you about your own individual medical needs. It is not intended to constitute medical advice and is provided for general information purposes only. Information on cancer, including the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer, is constantly being updated and revised by medical professionals and the research community.

Cancer Council Queensland does not warrant that the information in this publication is correct, up to date or complete nor that it is suitable for any particular purpose. Your use of the information in this publication is at your own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Cancer Council Queensland does not accept any liability for any reliance placed on information that is not correct, complete or up to date, or that is not suited to the purpose for which it was relied upon. If any warranty or guarantee cannot by law be excluded, then, to the extent permitted by law, Cancer Council Queensland's liability for such warranty or guarantee is limited, at Cancer Council Queensland's option, to supplying the information or materials again or paying the cost of having the information or materials supplied again. 4