Increased screening urged to curb N.L. cancer deaths

Statistics that show Newfoundland and Labrador residents have a lower risk of developing cancer but a higher risk of dying underscore the need for more aggressive screening, an advocate says.

"For all cancers, we have a slightly lower incident rate than the Canadian average, but our mortality rate our death rate is slightly higher," said Peter Dawe, executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Across Canada, an estimated 360 cancer-related deaths are projected for this year for every 100,000 people. In Newfoundland and Labrador, however, that number is 414.

Dawe said that number would likely be lower if more cancers were found early, when the disease can best be treated.

The answer, he said, is "better screening, more screening, better access to screening getting everybody who should be screened in a screening program."

Instead, Dawe said, "people [are] showing up in Newfoundland and Labrador later and at a later stage in their cancer so that they have a much smaller chance of surviving it than you see in other parts of the country."

Nelson Granter, a prostate cancer survivor, works with the Kittiwake Prostate Cancer Support Group, which encourages men to take more responsibility for their own health.

Granter and his brother were tested after their father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Both were shown to have cancer. The lesson, he said, led to his advocacy work for screening.

"Get that test done, and get it done early, because that's your best weapon," said Granter, adding that men should know that getting tested will not kill them, but avoiding it might.