More than 10,000 people in the Western Metropolitan region were diagnosed with cancer in the past three years, of which 1,271 were in the Werribee local area, according to figures released by Cancer Council Victoria.

While it is welcome news that more than two thirds of Victorians diagnosed with cancer now survive more than five years, sadly, cancer has been responsible for the deaths of 3,884 people in the West and 423 in our local community last year.

This highlights the need for people to make sure that they undertake the screening tests available, to ensure that any cancer is detected early to give treatment programs the best
chance of working. 

The most common cancers in the West were prostate, bowel and breast cancers. There were 1,564 diagnoses of prostate cancer, 1,346 diagnoses and bowel cancer and 1,228 diagnoses of breast cancer in the region between 2008 and 2010. 

Screening programs are available for breast and bowel cancer.

“With bowel cancer, 90% of cases are curable if detected early, so we recommend screening as there’s a proven benefit. We also encourage local residents to speak to their doctor to discuss screening options and to find out whether testing is right for them,”
said Cancer Council Victoria CEO, Todd Harper.

On Friday 25 May, State MP for Tarneit, Tim Pallas, hosted a Biggest Morning Tea, where members of the community raised over $500 for cancer research.

For further information, please visit www.cancervic.org.au or to speak to our experienced cancer nurses, please call our Cancer Council Helpline (13 11 20). This is a confidential service for anyone with questions about cancer.