Are you a Health Professional? Jump over to the doctors only platform. Click Here

Cancer Council to tackle cancer in Indigenous communities

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Cancer Council of Australia wants to work closely with Aboriginal communities and remote health workers to reduce the impact of cancer in regional areas.

A 10-year report by the Menzies School of Health shows Indigenous Australians are far less likely to be offered curative treatment and up to three times more likely to say no to treatment after diagnosis.The council’s Alan Coates says it is the first time they have been able to accurately assess the treatment of cancer in communities.He says a coordinated national approach is needed.”We’re beginning a journey here and it’s going to be a challenging and maybe a long journey but we’ve got to move together with the communities to address the problems as they’re perceived in those communities,” he said.”Help them to find ways to overcome the problems, care for the patients who are effected and hopefully undertake health promotion activities that will reduce the number of people affected by cancer in the future.”Mr Coates says language and cultural barriers need to be overcome to reduce the impact of cancer.”You’ve got to look at the overall quality of life for the communities, then the will to remain strong is linked to the that perception of quality of life,” he said.He has met with health workers, experts and survivors in Darwin.(Source: ABC News: August 2004.)


Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Dates

Posted On: 26 August, 2004
Modified On: 3 December, 2013

Tags



Created by: myVMC