Report forecasts 600 will die from lung cancer in Saskatchewan in 2017

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in Saskatchewan, according to a report released Tuesday.

The 2017 Canadian Cancer Statistics report is a mixture of good and bad news, but far as Saskatchewan is concerned, the province is on par compared to the rest of the country, said Donna Pasiechnik, manager of tobacco control, media and government relations with the Canadian Cancer Society.

In 2017, it is estimated that 2,400 people will die of cancer, and 5,600 people will be diagnosed in Saskatchewan. Prostate cancer is still the most-often diagnosed cancer in men, followed by colorectal and lung cancers. Prostate and colorectal cancers are the second and third causes of cancer death in men. For Saskatchewan women, breast cancer is the most-often diagnosed cancer, followed by lung and colorectal cancers. Breast and colorectal cancers are the second and third cause of cancer death in women.

The Cancer Society plans to meet with the Saskatchewan minister of health this summer to make recommendations in the wake of the report.

“We all need to play a role because it affects everyone. It touches everyone,” said Pasiechnik.

This year, the provincial government expanded the human papillomavirus vaccine program to include both Grade 6 girls and boys, to help prevent HPV-related cancers. “We’re very pleased about the HPV vaccination program; we were one of the last provinces in the country to announce that,” said Pasiechnik.

But she said the government has made no progress in the last eight to 10 years in terms of tobacco control. She said there has been progress at municipal levels, as seen with the smoking bylaw recently passed in Regina, but more needs to be done at the provincial level. According to the report, tobacco use causes more than 85 per cent of lung cancer cases. In 2017, approximately 600 men and women in Saskatchewan are expected to die of lung cancer, says the report.

The Cancer Society will also be pushing for the government to improve palliative care in the province, which Pasiechnik said will be strained even further as the population ages and the number of cancer cases increase.

But the buck doesn’t stop there. Half of all cancers can be prevented, and so efforts on an individual level are also very important, said Pasiechnik. Healthy eating, being physically active, wearing sunscreen, refraining from smoking and having the proper screening tests done are all ways to reduce your risk of cancer.

At a national level, one in two Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, the report says. However, the Cancer Society has emphasized that the increase in cases is mostly due to demographics, not an increased risk of getting cancer.

“It’s mainly a disease of older people,” said Pasiechnik. Ninety per cent of cancer cases this year will be in people age 50 or older and 45 per cent will be in people age 70 or older.

On a brighter note, the report says since the 1940s the cancer survival rate has gone up from 25 per cent to 60 per cent, with some cancers like thyroid and testicular at a five-year net survival rate of over 90 per cent. But pancreatic cancer, which is expected to be the third leading cause of cancer death soon, has a survival rate of just eight per cent.

Pasiechnik said 60 per cent of the Cancer Society’s high-priority projects are currently unfunded, and encourages people to donate money or volunteer.