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Tackling Indigenous Excess Cancer Deaths A webinar from Cancer Australia and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) In a comprehensive webinar which ‘travelled’ broadly across country, Julie McCrossin, Targeting Cancer Ambassador and neck and throat cancer survivor, together with Prof Jacinta Elston, Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous at Monash University, spoke to a crosssection of healthcare professionals working to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous life expectancy in Australia. The Close the Gap campaign had its genesis 14 years ago in 2005, with an annual report produced by the Federal Government since 2007. The gap remains intransigent and cancer overtook cardiovascular disease in 2019 to become the leading cause of Indigenous deaths. Indigenous populations experience a significant excess death rate and work is being done to address the divergence. The ongoing and significant work of Indigenous health professionals, such as Annie Taylor, Lynne Thorne, Denise Karpany, Megan Clayton and Fiona Bradbury, feeds policymaking and provides support to patients on the treatment journey, offering informed care in language and a culturally contextualised framework. The health professionals spoke of the importance of connection, language, trust, continuity of care and identified a need for male health workers to support men’s business related to cancer as well as acknowledging the impact of cancer in their own families and communities subject to excess death rates from cancer. Kar Giam outlined the case for an Aboriginal cancer unit to scaffold the treatment journey from primary care to acute care and back again with continuity. Ricky Williams, as a long-term client of the Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service (AWAHS), underscored the importance of this continuity, saying, “You get to know everybody. You know most of the doctors and you know most
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pointed to the need to address systemic failure, “Racism and systemic bias in our care systems and in our structures means we have got work to do on an anti-racism agenda.”
Archie Roach, singer/songwriter and lung cancer survivor
of the people.” Prof Tom Calma laid out a number of factors leading to a greater prevalence of cancer in a population where government wages were once paid in tobacco and cigarettes and gave evidence of the success of counter campaigns such as Tackling Indigenous Smoking, Quitskills and Quitline which have seen a decrease in smoking from 50 per cent to 37 per cent over the last 15 years, with approximately 23,000 lives saved. Although Dr Craig Underhill, Director of Cancer Services at Albury Wodonga Health, pointed out that while Indigenous smoking has peaked the consequences in increased cancer rates will still be seen for another decade or two, as in the lag time for post-peak smoking rates in other populations. AWAHS has been instrumental in the development of resources to counter smoking rates such as Let’s Yarn About Cancer with lung cancer survivor, Archie Roach. Julie also spoke to FRANZCR A/Prof Michael Penniment who is active in advocating for Indigenous patients to have equivalent cancer outcomes to the rest of the population. His experience in rural settings led to the establishment of the Alan Walker Cancer Centre in Darwin, which has significantly increased the utilisation of radiation oncology treatment in the Northern Territory since its inception, from around 22 per cent to 48 per cent of cancer patients. All practitioners emphasised the need for more work to be done on the multi-faceted issues causing excess Indigenous deaths from cancer and Prof Elston recognised the complex work of health professionals in communities and
The College is pleased to announce that five junior doctors and medical students will receive the inaugural ASM Grant, four of whom identify as Aboriginal and one as Māori. The inaugural RANZCR ASM Grant Program, launched in July this year, supports Indigenous junior doctors and medical students to extend their knowledge and interest in the professions of clinical radiology and radiation oncology. Watch the full webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=2kfbeDPgtkI
Prof Jacinta Elston, Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous Monash University, Chair of Cancer Australia’s Leadership Group on Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Cancer Control
Prof Tom Calma, Cancer Australia’s Leadership Group on Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Cancer Control National Coordinator, Tackling Indigenous Smoking Member
Annie Taylor, Cancer Navigator, Borroloola Cancer Council, Northern Territory
