LUNG CANCER Health Report Inside this issue: Understanding lung cancer and its symptoms Act early and lung cancer can be treated Non-smokers can get lung cancer too “They’ve missed so much” – A son and nephew’s story CONTENTS Section 1: Foreword from Hon Tony Ryall, Minister of Health 3 Melissa McGregor, Managing Director Pfizer New Zealand 4 Dalton Kelly, CEO Cancer Society of New Zealand 5 Section 2: About this report 6 How common do we think lung cancer is? 6 How do we compare? 7 Lung cancer and Māori and Pacific New Zealanders 8 Understanding your lungs and how we breathe 9 Understanding lung cancer 9 Causes of lung cancer 10 Do we know what the symptoms are? 11 The common symptoms of lung cancer 11 Section 3: Act early 12 “Give up the smokes” 12 Talk to your GP for early detection 13 Treating the whole person, not just the biology 14 – Chris Atkinson, Oncologist Perceptions of people with lung cancer 15 What do we think about treatments for lung cancer? 16 Patient Story: Non-smokers can get lung cancer too 17 Mark’s Story: “I felt like a lump of lead; I just went numb.” 18 Sid’s Story: “They’ve missed so much.” 19 Section 4: How do people quit smoking? 21 And what do we think about people who smoke? 21 Smoking by the numbers 21 Smokefree New Zealand 2025 22 Useful information about lung health, lung cancer 23 and giving up smoking About the research 23 Foreword from HON TONY RYALL, MINISTER OF HEALTH Being diagnosed with lung cancer is devastating and life changing. Often the prognosis is offered advice and support to stop smoking. 4 not good - only 10% of people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive We have removed tobacco displays from shops beyond five years. 1 and raised fines for retailers who sell tobacco products to people under the age of 18. We are regularly increasing excise tax on these products Lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer deaths and are progressing ‘plain packaging’ legislation in New Zealand. Every year almost 2000 people that will see branding stripped from cigarette are diagnosed with the disease and more than packs and other tobacco products. 1600 people die from it. 2 There is a real will to reduce the impact of lung cancer through On the treatment front, we now have national prevention, early diagnosis and timely treatment. standards that improve the way care is delivered to lung cancer patients. The standards will ensure that over time, people can access the same high Smoking is undeniably the major cause. About quality care, no matter where they live. 1 85% of people who die from lung cancer are smokers and a big proportion of the remainder are We are focused on providing faster tests and likely to have been exposed to second-hand smoke. cancer treatment. The Shorter waits for cancer treatment health target has improved treatment In fact, tobacco products kill about 5000 times so patients needing radiotherapy or New Zealanders each year, and each of these chemotherapy receive it within four weeks. 5 deaths is preventable. 3 Stopping smoking is the best thing a person can do for their health. These initiatives are paying dividends – New Zealand smoking rates are at a record low That is why this Government is committed to and the number of people who smoke every day reducing smoking and making tobacco less has dropped to around 15 percent. However we attractive and less visible. We currently spend cannot afford to be complacent. 6 more than $40 million a year on tobacco control activities, including cessation, promotion, media It is important to raise awareness of lung cancer so information campaigns and research. that people fully understand the risk factors and can recognise the symptoms. This publication is These activities will help us achieve our goal of a welcome addition to the library of information being essentially a smokefree nation by 2025. resources available to consumers. Our Better help for smokers to quit health target ensures patients seen by hospitals and GPs are Hon Tony Ryall Minister of Health in partnership with Cancer Society New Zealand 3 A message from Melissa McGregor, Managing Director Pfizer New Zealand IF IT DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT, IT PROBABLY ISN’T Having personal experience of supporting my sister through a cancer diagnosis and into palliative care, I understand first-hand the strain it puts on family. My sister had a feeling something wasn’t quite right. She went to her local doctor and returned again when her symptoms didn’t improve. Her perseverance and knowing her own body helped ensure she got a diagnosis. It also helped give us more time with her through treatment and into care. If we can help prevent other families going through New Zealand. Few people are talking to their GP the same process then this report has been a about their lung health, and few people recognise the success. We need to encourage people to change symptoms of lung cancer. This is perhaps no surprise. their behaviours by acting early on symptoms, As Dr Esela Natano says in the Report, the symptoms of addressing their tobacco use and busting community lung cancer can also be attributed to other conditions. misconceptions about lung cancer. The best way to rule out cancer is to see your GP. Dr Richard Sullivan also makes it very clear that when lung Lung cancer is often fatal but can be treated if caught cancer is found early it may be treatable and curable. early on. The best treatment is prevention – and with New Zealanders tend to ignore or brush off symptoms lung cancer we know that up to 9 out of 10 diagnoses which means our late stage of diagnosis sees too many 7,8 in New Zealand are former or current smokers. Kiwis dying of lung cancer each year. Smoking cessation programmes and treatments are an important tool in reducing the incidence of smoking Helping people quit smoking is a big part of what we do across all age groups. While we are making good at Pfizer. So is supporting efforts to research and develop progress, we recognise there is still more work to do, cancer treatments. Both are essential to improving the particularly with Māori and Pacific New Zealanders to quality of life for cancer patients and their families. ensure they get to spend more time with their families. Through this Lung Cancer Health Report we are bringing together these twin passions, and hopefully giving Kiwis This Lung Cancer Health Report highlights an helpful information about their lung health. important and perhaps unrecognised problem in 4 PFIZER HEALTH REPORT: LUNG CANCER Foreword from Dalton Kelly, CEO Cancer Society of New Zealand IT’S EASY TO TAKE OUR LUNGS FOR GRANTED We breathe in and out anywhere from 15 to 25 times per minute without even realising it. When we exercise, our breathing rate goes up without us needing to think about it. We breathe so automatically that it is easy to take our lungs for granted. The lungs are complex organs. They take a gas the Māori and non-Māori females is similar for lung cancer body needs to get rid of (carbon dioxide) and exchange deaths. The Māori female lung cancer mortality is over it for a gas that the body needs (oxygen). The oxygen is four times that of non-Māori females. 10 transferred to the blood which nourishes all the organs of the body. Our lungs are vital to life, so any disease And of course there is an urgency to reduce which affects their functioning is very serious. Lung children’s exposure to tobacco smoke to ensure they cancer is such a disease. grow up with healthy lungs, and most importantly don’t take up the habit. Back in history, lung cancer was uncommon, so rare the medical profession deemed it an ‘oddity.’ It Together, we can raise awareness, educate, and was not recognised medically until the 18th century. take action when something isn’t quite right. If we However, by the 1940s and 1950s lung cancer was a act in a timely manner we may make a difference global epidemic, and today the situation is no better. to the families who may lose a loved one to this In fact lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer- terrible disease. related death worldwide, accounting for 1.59 million We welcome any support for our work. The publication 9 deaths every year. of this report is part of a wider opportunity to inform The situation in New Zealand is no different. The the New Zealand public about lung cancer. tragedy is that the overwhelming majority of the deaths are entirely preventable. Lung cancer is primarily caused by tobacco smoke, which is why the disease was quite rare prior to the 20th century. However, while smoking is the single biggest risk factor, non-smokers can also contract lung cancer. As a community, we need to be aware of the disease and not only recognise the signs and symptoms but take action and see a medical professional straight away. The visit could be life-saving. A large part of the Cancer Society’s work involves raising awareness through providing information and promoting healthy lifestyles. We do this in no small measure, with a particular focus on communities with high smoking rates including Māori. Māori females have a lung cancer registration rate four times that of non-Māori females and the relative disparity between in partnership with Cancer Society New Zealand 5 About this report The Lung Cancer Health Report is designed to be an important resource for anyone interested in their own lung health and the lung health of their Whānau.