Cancer in Australia: Mortality, Common Cancers, Risk Factors, and Health Promotion Strategies

This article discusses cancer in Australia, including mortality rates, common cancers, risk factors, and health promotion strategies. It highlights the impact of cancer on individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole. The article is relevant to students studying health, medicine, and public health, as well as healthcare professionals and researchers.

Running head: CANCER IN AUSTRALIA 1
Cancer in Australia
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Introduction
Cancer is referred to as the out of control growth of abnormal cells in the body. The
disease progresses when the functioning of the body’s usual control mechanism is inhibited.
Cancer is the primary cause of mortality in Australia and resulted in an estimated 3 in 10 deaths
in the year 2014. It is estimated that there will be about 48000 deaths from cancer in 2018. In
2017, it was expected that there would be 47,753 deaths as a result of cancer in Australia, which
means that 131 deaths were to occur daily. Approximately 17,500 people die yearly as a result of
cancer which is attributed to aging and increased population growth. Although the number of
deaths per 100,000 people has reduced by an estimated 24%, the majority of Australians
continue to be diagnosed with the disease (Jemal, Parkin, & Bray, 2017).
The five most common cancers that makeup 60% of all cancer cases in Australia include
lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, and colorectal cancer. In 2012, lung
cancer was the leading cause of mortality (8.137), bowel cancer was the second (3.980),
followed by prostate cancer (3.079), breast cancer (2819) and pancreatic cancer (3,980). The cost
of cancer treatment is costly and was estimated to cause more than $ 4.5 billion and in 2006 to
2011 cancer research cost about $1.77 billion (Torre et al., 2012). In the year 1984 to 1988, the
five-year relative survival rate grew from 48% to 68% in the year 2009 to 2013. People residing
in Australia have a high survival rate compared to those living in other areas. In the year 2008 to
2012, the age-standardized incidence rate for all the types of cancer was higher (484 per 100000)
for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians compared to the non-indigenous
Australians (439 per 100000). Individuals with a low socioeconomic status had a high age-
standardized incidence rate than the ones with high socioeconomic status (McGuire, 2016).
The target group is the seniors (60 plus) Australians since they are the most affected with
cancer, in 2013, there were 64% and 74.6% new cancer cases in older women and men
respectively. In the same year, the standardized age incidence was 416 cases per 10000 women
and 562 cases per 100000 men (Jemal, Parkin & Bray, 2017). This is attributed to the fact that
body cells can be damaged with time. The damage can be intense as a person advances in age
leading to cancer.

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Cancer has the potential of interfering with an individual’s Overall wellbeing. For
instance, the individual wellbeing of a cancer patient is affected by the pain and suffering they go
through. The inability to work while undergoing cancer treatment also makes the patients lose
their job. As a result, their financial wellbeing is affected due to the high costs of cancer
treatment. Cancer also affects the family wellbeing due to the economic challenges they face
while supporting their patient as well as seeing them go through pain and suffering. The
community wellbeing is affected due to decreased productivity of the cancer patients. The
societal wellbeing is affected by the increased stigma of a cancer patient or survivor. The
understanding of this frameworks in relation to cancer can help healthcare professionals and
researchers to come up with effective interventions (Knight & McNaught, 2011).
Key debates and issues surrounding cancer in Australia
Although Australia has a high cancer incidence, there are decreased cases of mortality
mainly attributed to increased access to high-quality care and increased utilization of cancer
screening services and medications. Despite the fact Australia has invested hugely on cancer
medications, numerous studies have indicated that more should be done to increase access to the
medicines. The increase in the cost of the treatment of cancer is a significant challenge in
Australia especially with the invention of expensive targeted therapies for different types of
cancers. So far, the Pharmaceutical Benefits has managed to fund new cancer drugs. However,
this takes quite a long time (Vogler & Vitry, 2016).
There has been inequity in the access to services such as cancer therapy. This is attributed
to increased cultural diversity in Australia. Different isolated communities in Australia face
different challenges in accessing cancer care and diagnosis. This problem is currently being
addressed with the use of telemedicine and the use of fly-in fly-out strategy to ensure that
regional centers have specialist experts. The Australian federal government has initiated plans to
construct regional cancer care facilities with linear accelerators to ensure that all patients living
in the rural areas receive integrated care (McGuire, 2016).

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Health determinants of cancer and risk factors
For a long period, tobacco has been identified as the leading preventable cause of cancer.
Tobacco is estimated to cause about 71% of lung cancer across the world. New studies indicate
that cigarette smoking can also result in other cancers such as a nasal cavity, oral cavity, larynx,
pancreas, kidney, stomach, liver, myeloid leukemia, and many others. Research indicates that
passive smokers are also vulnerable to lung cancer (Banks et al., 2015). Secondly, there is a
strong association between diet, physical activity and nutrition, and cancer vulnerability. A study
Cancer Research and experts in nutrition, public health, cancer epidemiology and biology
assembled by the American Institute for Cancer and World Cancer Research Fund indicate that
about 25% of cancers would not occur if individuals right nutritious foods and engaged in
physical activities, and obesity was prevented, while other risk factors remain constant (Ding et
al., 2016).
Thirdly, similar to tobacco increased alcohol consumption increases the risk of
developing liver, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx and female breast cancer. Alcohol use is attributed
to 5% of all the cancers cases in Australia. Although there is no sufficient data on how alcohol
use causes cancer, there are possibilities that Acetaldehyde and Ethanol in alcohol present in
alcohol destroys the DNA of healthy cells in the body. Alcohol may also inhibit the breakdown
of estrogen. As a result, the amount of the hormone increases in the blood which then increases
the risk for uterine, ovarian and breast cancers. Alcohol consumption can also decrease the
ability of the body to process and utilize nutrients such as vitamin A, C, D, E as well as
carotenoids and Folate. It can also result in high weight gain which increases an individual’s
vulnerability to cancer. Therefore, people are advised to limit the consumption of alcohol
(Bagnardi et al., 2015).

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Fourthly, about 2% to 11% of cancer cases are attributed to occupational exposures. The
most common carcinogens in the workplace include vinyl chloride and benzene, industrial
processes and radiation. Specific occupational exposure is known to cause certain types of
cancer. For instance, mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos (Rubin et al., 2015).
Finally, sun exposure is also a cause of cancer approximately 90% of melanoma cases are as a
result of increased sun exposure. Individuals with a high level of education register low cancer
cases because they are knowledgeable of how to live healthy lives. People with low
socioeconomic status are more exposed to cancer compared with those with high socioeconomic
status. This is because the rich have access to good and services that improve their health. The
socially excluded individuals are more likely to develop cancer due to lack of access to health
care services and good nutritious foods as well as health education (Ruiz & Hernández, 2014).
Health promotion actions and strategies
Enormous efforts have been put in promoting the health of the people living in Australia.
Firstly, there has been the existence of a cancer control policy for about 20 years. In 1996, cancer
control was introduced as a national health priority with the incorporation of cancer control into
the national strategic direction. The National Service Improvement Framework for cancer was
introduced in 2005 including prominent policy priorities in Australia. However, more policies
that improve access to the cancer drugs should be introduced to ensure that people from all the
social classes can get the drugs (Rubin et al., 2015).
Secondly, supportive environments have been created for the cancer patients and the
people living in Australia. For instance, there are cancer support organizations such as cancer
Australia that ensure that individuals affected by cancer acquire quality support and that they
support each other. The cancer council also provides resources and support to cancer patients
and survivors to ensure that they can attend to and return to work. People have also received
health education regarding the risk factors such as smoking. People have also been advised to
engage in sports and other physical activities to reduce obesity cases. However, much can be
done regarding increasing health education to ensure that people are more aware of the
consequences of their health choices

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Thirdly, community actions have been strengthened by engaging the people living in
Australia in decision making and the planning and implementation of strategies. Community
members have also been empowered and given a chance to make their health choices (World
Health Organization, 2016). Fourthly, the community has also been helped in developing
personal skills by ensuring that the people are well informed about chronic illnesses such as
cancer so that they can be able to cope in the event they develop the disease. Lastly, there has
been the reorientation of health services by collaboration between health professionals,
individuals, and the community groups to ensure that the health care system provides quality
health care to the people (Inoue-Choi, Lazovich, Prizment & Robien, 2013).
In conclusion, a lot of progress has been made in the fight against cancer in Australia.
Although mortality rates from the disease have decreased, the mortality rates continue to
increase. This indicates that much has to be done regarding ensuring that people live healthy
lives through health education and that the prevention of disease should also be prioritized.

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