Campaign nets regional results

Some of the common reasons can be an optimistic approach to life and finding excuses to not seek help, which may then result in a later diagnosis.

This article was published by South Western Times, Bunbury on 5 September 2019.

Cancer Council WA has revealed the South West is leading the way with 30 per cent of residents taking action after witnessing the Find Cancer Early campaign.

The campaign aimed to increase cancer symptom awareness in regional WA and results are proving the message is getting through. Cancer Council WA revealed people living in regional Australia had poorer cancer outcomes than people living in metropolitan areas.

Survival outcomes for regional Australians are 20-30 per cent worse than Australians living in a metropolitan area and 67 more lives are lost each year. The Find Cancer Early campaign received a $1.6 million boost from the State Government to expand the program into regional areas and South West residents are taking it on board.

Not only has this campaign prompted people to closely monitor their symptoms, but 50 per cent of those who took action decided to visit their GP to discuss their symptoms further. This is a great result for the South West as research from the Cancel Council indicates regional people tend to present to their GP at a later stage for a variety of reasons.

Some of the common reasons can be an optimistic approach to life and finding excuses to not seek help, which may then result in a later diagnosis.

After such a great response from the campaign, the Cancer Council is attempting to promote symptom awareness further. The average person knows only one to two of the five common cancer symptoms but the Cancer Council is aiming to increase this to three to four symptoms by continuing to promote the important message to Find Cancer Early.