A drop in the number of Māori being diagnosed with cancer is concerning, the cancer control agency says after its latest report showed a decrease in diagnoses for the first two months of this year due to Covid disruptions.
Te Aho o Te Kahu has been monitoring the impact of Covid-19 on cancer services in Aotearoa throughout the pandemic. Its latest bi-monthly report released in April showed 2% fewer cancer registrations overall in the first two months of 2022 compared with the same time in 2021.
For Māori however, the drop was much higher. There were 16% fewer diagnoses in January and 17% less in February compared with the same months in 2021.
About 25,000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with cancer every year, nearly 3000 of which are Māori, who are twice as likely to die with the disease.
Te Aho o Te Kahu chief executive Diana Sarfati told Te Karere the latest data was a concern.
“We don’t think there is any reduction in cancer out there so this is concerning. It means people have cancer and they don’t know about it yet.
“We think that that’s because of the disruptions that Omicron caused, particularly in Auckland in the northern region.”
There was also a 22% decline in combined cancer surgeries for Māori in both January and February 2022, compared with 2021.
Diagnoses for Pasifika whānau were fewer in both months, with 5% less registrations in January and February 2022 combined compared with the previous year.
Cancer screening catch-up
The agency’s next report for the month of March will be released in a couple of weeks.
Sarfati said it was likely that data in the next report would still show there were disruptions to cancer services, but she expected things would improve towards the end of March and into April.
Health Minister Andrew Little on Thursday said the Omicron outbreak had “caused major disruption” to health services, and there was now a catch-up programme underway for those who had missed a cancer screening.
Little said DHBs were now following up on anyone who had not responded to requests for screening or had missed out on appointments.
Te Aho o Te Kahu in 2021 released its first comprehensive report of the country's cancer system, which highlighted huge disparities in health outcomes for Māori, who are disproportionately affected by cancer.
The report also highlighted the importance of cancer prevention and screening in helping better cancer outcomes in New Zealand.
National's health spokesperson Shane Reti on Thursday told Te Karere he wasn't surprised about the data, and called on the Government to run more targeted prevention campaigns.
"How do we identify the gaps in the system, how do we rapidly diagnose and treat those people with cancer, who have fallen by the wayside with coronavirus, what are the solutions? That's what I want to know.
"I think we really need to be looking very hard at cancer, it's one of the biggest inequities for Māori, it's one that I worry the most about for Māori, particularly lung cancer."
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