New Government Must Move Quickly To Save Lives

Whatever the final shape of the new coalition Government, its health policy needs to address an urgent problem that is taking the lives of 700 men each year – prostate cancer.

We need better systems for early detection of the disease, but there is no centralised population-based programme for diagnosis and treatment for men who have an elevated PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test. More than 4000 men are diagnosed annually – a number which is expected to rise each year – but clinicians believe there are many more whose cancer goes undetected.

Current testing is unfunded, disorganised and inequitable, allowing too many men to die. Things need to change to provide better healthcare for New Zealand men.

Of the three parties in coalition talks, NZ First has the most developed policy when it comes to this issue.

The party supports a 3-year prostate screening pilot programme for all men over 50, or those men over 45 with a family history of prostate cancer, and those men over 40 who have the gene variant BRCA2 in the Tairawhiti and Waitemata regions with a view to scaling up nationally. The cost of this programme is estimated at $6.5 million.

NZ First also supports greater funding to ensure better access to prostate cancer medicines and treatments, and better access to ultrasound and MRI as a diagnostic pathway in the public health system. Men with advanced prostate disease would benefit from funded PSMA-PET scans to detect cancer spread and limit the need for unnecessary radical treatment. And it would support health literacy and practice for men’s health, including prostate cancer, to enable men to know their own risk profile and support their taking action.

National has said it will conduct a rapid review of the public health system to determine investment options for the delivery of modern prostate cancer management in New Zealand, including better access to ultrasound and MRI, information technology needs, and workforce shortages.

Act leader David Seymour supports initiatives raising awareness of prostate cancer, acknowledging that it’s the most common cancer in Kiwi men and the third highest cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer and bowel cancer.

We recognise that pretty much all parties’ policies are negotiable when it comes to the pointy end of coalition talks. But we are hopeful that the new government will make meaningful changes that will save lives.

Significant advances in technology and improved diagnostic methods mean previous risks from prostate treatment have been reduced, and the latest research clearly shows that a comprehensive early-detection programme holds the promise of halving mortality from the disease.

Screening programmes work. Some key examples: Every year 3400 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and 600 die. A comprehensive early detection programme was started in 2017. For bowel (or colorectal) cancer, 3200 men and women are diagnosed, with 1200 deaths. A comprehensive early detection programme was started in 2017. And for cervical cancer, 160 women are diagnosed, with about 50 deaths. A comprehensive early detection programme was started in 1991.

Funding of early detection programmes for prostate cancer is an urgent equity issue that needs addressing. Many New Zealanders support this. A petition presented to Parliament in July seeking a funded, risk-based equitable prostate cancer testing regime attracted more than 30,000 signatures. A Parliamentary select committee will hear submissions on the petition, which are due by the end of this month.
A centralised early detection programme is needed so fewer men die unnecessarily. We don’t think that’s too much to ask.

Danny Bedingfield, President of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of NZ.

© Scoop Media