Bush Summit: Australians dying from preventable blood cancer

Hundreds of Australians are dying unnecessarily from a particular cancer each year because of where they live.

More than 1300 Australians die unnecessarily from blood cancer each year because they live in resource-starved regional towns.

Leukaemia Foundation chief executive Chris Tanti revealed the grim figures were because blood cancer patients in regional and remote communities are not able to get the best treatment available to their city counterparts.

A major driver of preventable cancer deaths was a delay in diagnosis because patients are often at the mercy of just a single professional opinion.

“If the only option you have is one GP in your area, you’re sort of cooked,” he said.

Blood cancer outcomes are worse in regional areas. Picture: istock

“The outcomes are catastrophic, it’s the difference between life and death. Someone I know in a regional area who died of blood cancer had been sick for years and no one had detected it.

“She subsequently died with blood cancer and no one knew and this is someone who had regularly gone to the doctor.”

Mr Tanti said rural doctors needed clear guidelines on how to treat high-risk illnesses like blood cancer.

“GPs need more support to able to diagnose patients. When you think about a solo practitioner in a regional and rural area, it’s not the fault of those GPs, they are inundated,” he said.

“When they are detected, then it’s about having a clear pathway to treatment.”

The Leukaemia Foundation has launched its Set the Standard campaign in a bid to standardise access to quality treatment regardless of where a patient lives.

Narrabri mum Katrina Richards was diagnosed after a gruelling five years where the local doctor mistook her rare blood cancer for skin condition psoriasis.

She spent the years managing her painful condition with a range of treatments from a dermatologist — completely unaware that the clock was ticking on her cancer.

Leukaemia Foundation boss Chris Tanti. Picture: Sarah Matray

“I had a severe red rash from head to toe and my hands were splitting. My feet had about 15cm hard splits. My skin was red raw and flaking and this happened for five years. I tried different medications and countless therapies.”

It was only when Ms Richards saw a visiting rheumatologist from Sydney whose wife was doing cancer research was the 46-year-old correctly diagnosed with stage four t-cell lymphoma.

“In Tamworth there isn’t even a haematologist. We have GPs if you can get in to see them,” she said.

“There are so many different types of lymphoma so when a doctor doesn’t know enough about them it’s really hard to get diagnosed.”

Originally published as Bush Summit: Australians dying from preventable blood cancer