Far-off help dooms our region’s ill

NORTH Queenslanders are more likely to die from lung cancer than the rest of the Australian population because the time it takes to travel to a doctor means the disease is being detected too late.

A report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has revealed the top 20 causes of death in Townsville and surrounding areas.

Heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, dementia and Alzheimer’s and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the top five killers in Townsville, according to the latest statistics.

This is followed closely by diabetes, suicide, and cancers.

Townsville Hospital oncology specialist Dr Abhishek Joshi said there were several factors for the rate of lung cancer deaths in the region, including smoking or exposure to asbestos.

“More generally, however, patients in rural or regional North Queensland may have to travel for their health care and may be less inclined to see a GP regularly to address any concerns, meaning that cancers like lung cancer are identified quite late and potentially contributing to a poor outcome,” he said.

“North and northwest Queensland also have higher incidence of indigenous populations. We know that, nationally, health outcomes for indigenous Australians are not in line with other Australians.”

James Cook University Department of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Associate Professor Dr Richard Franklin said lung cancer being the

Suicide ranks seventh for causes of death in Townsville, compared to 12th nationally.

Dr Franklin said this was likely linked to economic downturns, Townsville’s susceptibility to natural disasters, and to a smaller extent the risk factors that come along with returning veterans in a Defence town.

In Townsville, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death, with residents 1.32 times more likely to die from the disease compared to the national average.

But diabetes is taking a staggering number of lives on Palm Island and in Mount Isa, where the disease ranks as the second and third leading causes of death respectively.

Diabetes Queensland chief executive Sturt Eastwood said diabetes was the “defining health issue” of the generation.

“The human suffering involved, when we’re talking about diabetes being the second, third or sixth top cause of death, is immeasurable,” he said. “The financial cost to Australia is about $14 billion annually.”

He said across Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were 3.3 times more likely to have diabetes compared to the rest of the population but it would be “misleading” to brand type 2 diabetes solely an issue for the indigenous community.

“The more people in your population who live with diabetes, the greater the complication and death rate will be,” he said. “It’s an urgent health priority in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities.”