Objective: To assess variations in the number of general practitioner visits preceding a cancer diagnosis, and in the length of the interval between the patient first suspecting a problem and their seeing a hospital specialist.
Design, Setting And Participants: Analysis of data provided to the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES; survey response rate, 37.7%) by 1552 patients with one of 19 cancer types and treated in one of five Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre hospitals, 1 October 2012 - 30 April 2013.
Purpose: In lung cancer, randomized trials assessing hyperfractionated or accelerated radiotherapy seem to yield conflicting results regarding the effects on overall (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS). The Meta-Analysis of Radiotherapy in Lung Cancer Collaborative Group decided to address the role of modified radiotherapy fractionation.
Material And Methods: We performed an individual patient data meta-analysis in patients with nonmetastatic lung cancer, which included trials comparing modified radiotherapy with conventional radiotherapy.
Selective oestrogen receptor modulators effectively reduce breast cancer in women at moderate to high risk, so why aren't they being discussed routinely?
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is limited published evidence about how psychosocial services should be organised or routinely integrated into cancer services to ensure that cancer patients receive appropriate psychological, social and emotional support during periods of diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. This paper reports on a survey of 26 oncology services in New South Wales, Australia, to examine the current provision of psychosocial oncology services. The aim of the study was to gather baseline data and information about the provision of services and to identify significant challenges associated with the development and implementation of psychosocial oncology services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffective mass media campaigns are hard to come by. A delicate blend of art and science is required to ensure content is technically accurate as well as being creatively engaging for the target audience. However, the most expensive component of a media campaign is not its development but its placement at levels that allow smokers to see, engage and respond to its content.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Epidemiol Community Health
September 2010
Background: Despite the decline in the incidence of cervical cancer in Australia as a result of population screening, a substantial proportion of women in NSW screen less regularly than the recommended two-yearly interval or do not screen. With higher rates of cervical cancer in unscreened and underscreened women, and despite the introduction of the human papillomavirus vaccine, there remains a need to continue to remind women to screen. The mass media has been shown to be effective at improving participation in cervical screening.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate trends in the incidence of adenocarcinoma (AC) of the oesophagus in New South Wales, factors associated with a diagnosis of AC, and factors associated with survival of patients with AC.
Design And Setting: We examined all cases of invasive oesophageal cancer recorded in the NSW Central Cancer Registry from 1972 to 2005. The Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia was used to assess geographical remoteness and the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage to assess socioeconomic status.
Cancer Causes Control
November 2009
Following linkage between the NSW Central Cancer Registry (CCR) and the NSW Midwives Data Collection, an investigation of the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and the risk of childhood cancer in their offspring was undertaken. Children born in NSW between 1994 and 2005, inclusive of 1,045,966 babies, were matched to 948 cancer cases in the CCR. After adjustment for maternal age, gestational age, baby's gender, birth weight, remoteness index, socioeconomic disadvantage and maternal health factors, no association (OR = 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe analyzed New South Wales Central Cancer Registry data for 1980-2003, to determine time trends in case fatality from ovarian cancer, after adjusting for stage, histological, and sociodemographic factors, and to consider service-delivery and research implications. After adjusting for covariates, the relative risk (95% confidence limit) of ovarian-cancer death reduced to 0.51 (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFN S W Public Health Bull
July 2008
Objective: One aim of the anti-tobacco mass media campaigns in NSW is to increase the numbers of smokers calling the Quitline to seek assistance to quit.
Methods: Investigation of the relationship between the weight of television advertising (Target Audience Rating Points: TARPs) and number of calls to the Quitline.
Results: There is a high correlation between weekly Quitline calls and TARPs.