Dr Chris Jackson: Otago University Medical Oncologist on the State of Cancer Report for 2025

There are concerns our health system isn't keeping pace with our accelerating cancer rates. 

The Cancer Control Agency's latest State of Cancer Report has found more New Zealanders are being diagnosed with cancer, but they're surviving cancer for longer. 

It's projecting diagnoses will increase by 50% over the next two decades. 

Otago University Medical Oncologist Dr Chris Jackson told Heather du Plessis-Allan this means fewer people getting scans, surgeries, and procedures. 

He says funding is increasing, but outcomes aren't improving at the same rate. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We have a new State of Cancer and New Zealand
report out this morning which provides a snapshot of cancer
control over the past five years. And there's some good
news here, which is that your chance of surviving cancer
is now up on what it was twenty years ago.
Doctor Chris Jackson is a professor of oncology at the
University of Otago and a practicing medical oncologist and with
us HI Chris Jobby Heather, Now, what's that down to

(00:21):
our survivability? Is that better diagnosis or better treatment?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well, the thing about cancer is it's not this one disease,
it's many. And again with cancer it's not just one thing,
it's many as well. So it's better prevention. So fewer
New Zealanders are smoking than ever before, which is great,
as earlier detection was, better screening programs, so now bow
bow breast in civil cancer, better treatments which are available,
which is fantastic. And so it's really many things along

(00:47):
the whole continuum. But saying that the system is better
than ever has been, which it is, and saying our
survival is better than it ever has been, which it is,
is fantastic. But you know, if you're someone who's on
a waiting list to be seen by a special or
if you're waiting on a chest, or if you're someone
who's trying to access a new cancer drag, it can
still be a pretty frustrating time.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah, if there was one thing that you could change
in order to prevent cancer, what would it be.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yeah, well the number twenty percent of all cancers are
related to smoking twenty percent, So if you get really
smoking that you would cut the number of cancers by
twenty percent.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
So that is understanded, even though the numbers are so
small nowadays.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, well it's probably gonna certainly there's going down, but
those people who've been smoking are still going to be
going through the system for that amount of time. The number,
the number two cause is a best teap. So New
Zealand's what the third most obese country in the world now,
I think, And we're seeing a rise in some obesely
related cancers now also, and I think of a good
facts that there will be the other big thing in
terms of prevention. The other key thing, which is a

(01:47):
very New Zealand thing, is our love affair with the
fun and as we come into summer months, I think
we have to reflect on the old flip slop slap thing.
Australia has done the sun prevention thing better than we
have and our skin cancer rates are now hide theirs.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Yeah, well I suppose, I mean you must be reasonably
heartened to them by what the WI GOVI is doing
and the possibility that comes off patient next year and
we start getting the stuff for cheaper.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yes, yes, yes, I certainly think that that is certainly
going to be a big, big factor for a lot
of people. But still, you know, it's not really the
answer for everyone. No.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
Now, listen, the backlogs and the wait times, as you
mentioned before, are creating a headache. So what is going
on here? Is this getting better on?

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Well, if you look at the numbers of people affected
by cancer, people reckon that we're going to have about
fifty percent increase the numbers affected over the course of
existing to twenty years. So we're getting older and as
you get older, the numbers of cancers go up and
there's more of us, and our system is not growing
at the same pace as there. So thirty thousand people
affected this year and interesting years time, forty five thousand

(02:48):
people set it's half as mini again, which means half
as mini again, skin surgeries, operations are procedures and the like,
and we're just not growing our system at the same rate.
And there's no doubt that the politicians are tracking the
care at their health system and it's for sure, but
it's not going up at fifty percent over the course
the next fifteen years. So there's a lot of work
to do in terms of making sure that we have
the system right side. Ye.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Good stuff, Thank you so much, Chris appreciated. Doctor Chris Jackson,
Professor of oncology at University of Otaga.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
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