Return to Written Question 6-13(4) asked by Mr. Rabesca to the Minister of Health and Social Services concerning cancer statistics.
In response to the written question from the Honourable Member, later today I will be tabling the detailed statistics which identify number of cancer cases, by type, that resulted in death in the past five years. It is important to note that the number of deaths from cancer is not the same as the incidence of cancer; many cases do not result in death and people with cancer may die from other causes. So I will also be providing the member at a later date with additional statistics identifying the overall incidence of cancer for the past five years.
There is certainly a lot of public awareness about cancer. However, awareness about cancer does not necessarily mean people will change their behaviour. We see this by traditional food in people's diets. One of the objectives of the current health reform work is to try to develop health promotion materials and activities that are more culturally relevant. This means that health boards and communities will need to become more actively involved. The best hope of prevention is convincing people of the dangers of smoking, as well as the importance of healthy eating and keeping traditional foods as an important part of their diet.
There is no lack of access for diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the NWT. Whatever diagnosis is currently not available in the NWT is provided through medical travel to southern facilities.
Screening mammography is available but has not yet been structured into an organized program. However, screening for cervical cancer in the NWT has brought deaths from this type of cancer to very low levels.
Screening should also lead to fewer deaths from breast cancer. Breast cancer screening depends on raising women's awareness of the issue, promoting and training women to do monthly breast self-examination, training health care providers to do annual clinical breast examinations in the context of well-women programs, and offering mammography to all women over the age of 50 every two years. The ministry has developed guidelines and put in place an advisory committee on this issue, but it is the health boards' responsibility to implement these programs.
Unfortunately, there is not yet a screening test for lung cancer which has a very high fatality rate. Tobacco smoking is an extremely serious issue which needs to be addressed by the department, boards, communities and individuals. this is the only hope for improvement in this area, as our rates are the worst in Canada.
There are new opportunities to bring more treatment back to the North. New technologies and easier protocols will allow a greater number of people to receive treatment for cancer closer to home in the future.
However, it should be noted that more diagnostic and treatment facilities will not decrease the total number of cancer deaths to a marked degree. It is truly on the prevention field that the war against cancer can be won or lost. As 2 out of 3 cancers are believed to be preventable, focusing on health promotion and education will contribute more to deceasing cancer deaths that all the new technologies put together.