Chief Cancer Officer’s report
Cancer remains the largest cause of premature death in our community.
Professor David Currow
Chief Cancer Officer and CEO, Cancer Institute NSW
The number of people with cancer is increasing as our population grows and ages. Increasing numbers of people with cancer, coupled with better survival, means there are more people living with a diagnosis of cancer.
Our challenges are to prevent more cancers, find cancer earlier and deliver even better cancer treatment services.
The development of this third cancer plan for the people of NSW reflects an integrated and collaborative approach to reducing the burden of cancer in NSW by coordinating priorities, resources and efforts among all individuals, organisations and governments involved in cancer control.
This cancer plan provides an opportunity to consolidate the efforts over the past six years, identify key cancer control agencies responsible for specific strategies and activities and embed cancer control firmly in the health system in NSW.
In this statewide cancer plan, we will look at the gaps between where we have succeeded and where we need to improve in cancer care within our changing health service environment. The plan sets out the most important principles and actions that need to take place over the next five years to further reduce cancer incidence and improve the care of patients. Our investment in cancer control will be carefully targeted to ensure the greatest impact for the people of NSW.
One of the keys to our success is to ensure we continue to strengthen the collaborations with all groups who are committed to cancer control. The NSW Cancer Plan 2011–15 focuses on the commitment of all cancer control stakeholders in NSW to lessen the impact of cancer and provides a platform for partnerships between government and nongovernment organisations and the community.
As a government agency, we don’t work alone and we are proud to work alongside such organisations as NSW Health, the Cancer Council NSW, the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council, GP NSW and NSW Multicultural Health Communication Centre in our vision to lessen the impact of cancer in NSW.
Through our collaborations, we will have the widest possible reach to improve cancer outcomes in our State.
