REVEALED: The most common cancers in the region
About 570 Wide Bay-Burnett locals die of cancer each year.
Central & North Burnett
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ABOUT 570 Wide Bay-Burnett locals die of cancer each year, new Cancer Council Queensland data shows.　　
The latest data available from the Queensland Cancer Register showed incidence, survival, mortality and prevalence of cancer in the region.
It also revealed the top five most commonly diagnosed cancers in the region are prostate cancer, melanoma, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer.
Cancer Council Queensland CEO Chris McMillan said lung cancer remained the region's biggest killer with 130 locals dying from the disease.
Prostate cancer was the most commonly diagnosed with 280 local men diagnosed each year.
"Melanoma is the second most common cancer in the region, with around 220 people diagnosed each year,” McMillan said.
"About 210 locals are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year in the region, and around 170 local women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.”
Overall, the number of cancers diagnosed each year in Queensland has more than tripled in the last three decades, from 8298 cases in 1982 to about 27,788 cases in 2015.
Across all cancer types, the average five-year relative survival rate for 2011-2015 is 71 per cent, up from 69 per cent for the period of 2006-2010.
"While survival rates are improving, if current trends continue into the future, cancer will remain the leading burden of disease, impacting an increasing number of individuals and families, and placing an even greater burden on the community and the health system,” Ms McMillan said.
"We all have a role to play in cancer control through reducing our own personal risk of some types of cancer by making healthy lifestyle choices, enabling early detection by getting to know our bodies and participating in recommended screening programs, and supporting continued investment into cancer research and support services.”
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