Latest news with #DorothyKeefe
News.com.au
07-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Aussies in their 30s and 40s are being diagnosed with cancer at unprecedented rates
Australians in their 30s and 40s are being diagnosed with cancer at unprecedented rates, with at least 10 types of the disease on the rise. The worrying phenomenon, known as early onset cancer, is drawing increasing concern from experts who say the trend is steep, widespread, and in many cases, not fully understood. New figures from Cancer Australia, the federal government's cancer agency, reveal staggering increases between 2000 and 2024. Among 30 to 39-year-olds, rates of prostate cancer have climbed by 500 per cent, pancreatic cancer by 200 per cent, liver cancer by 150 per cent, uterine cancer by 138 per cent, and kidney cancer by 85 per cent. While changes in diagnostic techniques may partially account for the growth in some cancers, such as prostate, most of the rise appears to defy such explanation. Professor Dorothy Keefe, the chief executive of Cancer Australia, told the ABC's Dr Norman Swan that approximately 10 types of cancer are now showing significantly elevated rates in young adults. She says that cancer has traditionally been a disease of ageing, with common forms such as bowel, breast, and lung cancer typically becoming more prevalent in older populations. And Australia isn't alone in facing this challenge. Data from cancer registries in the United States show a similarly dramatic rise in early onset cancers. Dr Philip Rosenberg, a recently retired biostatistician from the US National Cancer Institute, has observed clear generational differences when comparing Generation X to the Baby Boomers. He said the most notable increases have occurred in cancers of the colon, rectum, thyroid, pancreas, prostate (in men), and oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer (in women). According to Dr Rosenberg, around half of all cancer types now show some generational shift in incidence. Bowel cancer is of particular concern in Australia, where rates among 30 to 39-year-olds have increased by 173 per cent since the year 2000. Even more troubling is the fact that diagnoses in this age group often come at a later stage, when the disease is more advanced and harder to treat. Despite decades of research, the causes of cancer remain complex and elusive. All cancers are caused by changes in genes, but not all of these changes are inherited. In well-known hereditary cases such as the BRCA mutations linked to breast and ovarian cancer, or Lynch Syndrome associated with bowel cancer, a clear genetic pathway is evident. However, most young people affected by early onset cancer do not carry these mutations. Instead, many scientists believe that environmental factors — or the 'exposome' — could be playing a role. These are external influences that interact with a person's genes to trigger malignant changes. The key may lie in understanding the environment that today's 30- and 40-year-olds were exposed to as children or even in utero, particularly between the 1960s and 1990s. During those decades, the Western world experienced major societal shifts. Childhood obesity began to rise, diets became more reliant on ultra-processed foods, and antibiotics were more commonly prescribed. Caesarean section rates also increased, potentially disrupting the transfer of microbiomes from mother to child — a factor that could affect immune system development. Microplastics still the great unknown Compounding the concerns is the growing presence of synthetic chemicals and plastics in everyday life. Despite being a new area of research, some scientists have warned that microplastics can have harmful effects on the human body, especially in large concentrations. In 2022, microplastics were detected in human blood for the first time, sparking a flurry of new research. As the name suggests, microplastics are small plastic particles, less than 5mm in diameter, and are reported to be near ubiquitous: they have been found in drinking water, food, and the atmosphere. A University of Newcastle report commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature found that the average individual could be ingesting as much as 5 grams, or 1 credit card's worth of microplastics every week. The WHO said in 2019 that the most immediate risk to human health could be from the toxicity of some microplastics, which may be from the production process itself or toxic substances the particles pick up from the environment. 'Further research is needed to obtain a more accurate assessment of exposure to microplastics and their potential human health,' said Dr Maria Neira, director of the WHO's department of public health, environment, and social determinants of health said at the time.
SBS Australia
06-07-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
It's one of Australia's biggest killers — and there's a new tool to tackle it
Lung cancer is Australia's fifth most diagnosed cancer, but causes the greatest number of deaths because it is often diagnosed too late. But this week, a new screening program became available — and there are hopes it will detect cases much earlier for those at the highest risk, including Indigenous Australians and some migrant communities. "We used to see a large number of people in their middle age to late middle age coming in with problems breathing or coughing up blood or losing weight, and they would have a diagnosis of lung cancer," said Dorothy Keefe, the CEO of Cancer Australia. "And I remember my first consultant ... he would sit on their beds and he would hold their hands and he would tell them that he was very sorry but there was nothing that could be done." Keefe was reflecting on her experiences of caring for patients with terminal lung cancer as a junior doctor in the United Kingdom, and she wants medical professionals to avoid as many of those conversations here as possible. Health Minister Mark Butler said despite it being one of the top five diagnosed forms of cancers, it's one of the deadliest because its often picked up when it's already advanced. He said that makes them: "very, very hard to treat — and making survivability much lower than some of the other cancers where we're seeing survivability increase quite dramatically." LISTEN TO SBS News 05/07/2025 12:37 English Anita Dessaix, chair of the Cancer Council's public health committee, said lung cancer mortality is especially a problem in some migrant communities and definitely so for Indigenous Australians, whose rates of diagnosis have been rising. "There are particular parts of the population that experience currently worser outcomes, and that does include people who are living in rural and remote areas in Australia," Dessaix said. "Those who potentially don't have English as their first language — so culturally and linguistically diverse communities — and also those who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people." Who can access the new lung cancer screening program? The Australian government has funded a national early screening program it hopes will bring down those numbers. Scans to detect lung issues normally cost hundreds of dollars, but Butler said that they will now cost nothing for patients deemed to be at high risk of lung cancer. That includes people who are: Between 50 and 70 years old Show no signs or symptoms of lung cancer Have a history of at least 30 pack-years of cigarette smoking, or are still smoking, or have quit in the past 10 years Butler said the program will entitle high risk patients "to a CT scan every two years, designed to pick up any early evidence of lung cancer and allow them then to be treated hopefully very, very successfully". He said people in regional communities would also be able to access the program later this year, with trucks equipped with mobile CT scan technology set to be rolled out in these areas. The international evidence for these types of screening programs is promising. Butler it suggests up to 70 percent of lung cancers are detected at early stages by low-dose CT scans, and deaths are subsequently reduced by 20 percent. Accordingly the CEO of the Lung Foundation Australia, Mark Brooke, hopes this program — the first new national cancer screening program in 20 years — will be a game changer. "We will be one of the first countries in the world to have a national lung cancer screening program that will look across Australia," Brooke said. "And particularly because it's been co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, will support those people who have often been forgotten."
SBS Australia
04-07-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
New screening program offers hope for those most at risk of lung cancer
"We used to see a large number of people in their middle age to late middle age coming in with problems breathing or coughing up blood or losing weight, and they would have a diagnosis of lung cancer. And I remember my first consultant, Dr Ian Coutts, was a very, very gentle man and he would sit on their beds and he would hold their hands and he would tell them that he was very sorry but there was nothing that could be done." That's Dorothy Keefe speaking about her experiences of caring for patients with terminal lung cancer as a junior doctor in the UK. Now the CEO of Cancer Australia, she wants medical professionals to avoid as many of those conversations here as possible, with lung cancer the fifth most diagnosed form of the disease in Australia - but also the deadliest. Health Minister Mark Butler says it's because the condition is often picked up when it's already advanced. "It kills about 9,000 Australians every single year, or around one Australian every single hour of every single day. One of the reasons - one of the key reasons - for that stubbornly high mortality rate is the late detection of lung cancers. Usually, they're only picked up at quite a late stage in the cancer, making them very, very hard to treat - and making survivability much lower than some of the other cancers where we're seeing survivability increase quite dramatically." Anita Dessaix from the Cancer Council says lung cancer mortality is especially a problem in some migrant communities - and definitely so for Indigenous Australians, whose rates of diagnosis have been rising. "There are particular parts of the population that experience currently worser outcomes - and that does include people who are living in rural and remote areas in Australia, those who potentially don't have English as their first language - so culturally and linguistically diverse communities - and also those who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people." Now, the Australian government has funded a national early screening program it hopes will bring down those numbers. Scans to detect lung issues normally cost hundreds of dollars - but the Health Minister says that from July 1, they will cost nothing for patients deemed to be at high risk of lung cancer. Eligibility will be determined by age - those between 50 and 70 - and smoking history [[of what's calculated as at least 30 pack years*]]. "This lung cancer screening program will be targeted at Australians aged between 50 and 70 with a significant smoking history. It will entitle them to a CT scan every two years, designed to pick up any early evidence of lung cancer and allow them then to be treated hopefully very, very successfully." The Minister says rural and remote communities won't miss out. "In addition to rolling this program out nationally in the usual way - allowing people to go to their doctor and get referred for a CT scan at a place like Benson here - we'll also from later this year be rolling out trucks into regional communities with cutting-edge mobile CT technology to ensure that every single Australian, no matter where they live in the country, has access to this world-leading program." The international evidence for these types of screening programs is promising. Mark Butler says it suggests up to 70 percent of lung cancers are detected at early stages by low-dose CT scans, and deaths are subsequently reduced by 20 percent. Accordingly the CEO of the Lung Foundation Australia, Mark Brooke, hopes this program - the first new national cancer screening program in 20 years - will be a game changer. "Australia stands as leaders globally. We will be one of the first countries in the world to have a National Lung Cancer Screening Program that will look across Australia, and particularly because it's been co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, will support those people who have often been forgotten." Naomi Fitzakerley is a consumer representative for the Lung Foundation. She's concerned that those eligible will be reluctant to come forward because of the shame attached to smoking. "There is such a stigma around smoking, and one of the things that you get told is that you've caused it. If you say I have bowel cancer, they'll say, 'oh, okay, are you okay?' But if you say you have lung cancer or you have COPD or you have any sort of smoking related illness, people will all of a sudden switch off and say, 'okay, yeah, so you did that, right.' Anita Dessaix says another concern is a lack of trust in the health system that Indigenous Australians and those in migrant communities might hold. But she says the screening program has been designed with those fears in mind. "So all of those lessons learned have been built into the design and the rollout of the national lung cancer screening program. The program is designed to be equity focussed and culturally safe and person-centred. So we know that we want to ensure that the people participating in the program are having the best experience possible." Mark Brooke says that stigma - and crisis of confidence - should not stop those eligible for the screening from taking advantage of it. "Our message at the Lung Foundation is a really simple one. This is a safe procedure and we encourage everyone who meets the eligibility criteria... Do not be put off by getting this screen. It will save your life."
