Catch cancer campaign launched

A campaign to educate the Great Southern community about the importance of recognising the early signs and symptoms of cancer was launched last week.

Picture by Laurie Benson: Libby Foster and Jo Woodall are coordinating the Find Cancer Early campaign in the Great Southern region

The two-year-long Find Cancer Early campaign being run by the Cancer Council WA and the University of Western Australia aims to improve health outcomes for rural and regional cancer patients, by educating people in the Great Southern about how to spot the early signs of prostate, bowel, breast and lung cancer.

The campaign will target people over the age of 40 about the importance of seeing a doctor early if they spot any unusual symptoms.

According to the Cancer Council, West Australians from rural and regional areas account for about 20 per cent of the 10,000 new cancer cases diagnosed in WA each year.

UWA Public Health Professor D’Arcy Holman said it was concerning that cancer patients from rural and remote areas didn’t do as well as their metropolitan counterparts, a statistic the project aims to turn around.

“This campaign will help educate people that early detection offers the best chance of surviving cancer so going to their doctor when they first notice a symptom could save their life, or at least add many years to it,” he said.

“Ultimately what we want to achieve is for people to act when they recognise the early signs and symptoms of some of the most common cancers, ensure patients get the best treatment possible and in turn, improve outcomes for rural cancer patients.”

Jo Woodall from the Cancer Council WA Great Southern will be one of two project officers working on the ground across the Great Southern to educate the community about the important of spotting cancer early.

Ms Woodall will be working in Albany and the area around the city while Libby Foster will be visiting smaller towns in the region.

Ms Woodall said community groups, employers, sport clubs and individuals throughout the Great Southern would be encouraged to get in touch to learn about Finding Cancer Early.

The campaign follows the Improving Rural Cancer Outcomes Project run by the Albany Rural Clinical School, Health Department researchers and the Cancer Council WA, which began in the Great Southern last year %as part of the largest cancer research study undertaken across regional WA.

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