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New Zealand's place in the sun has a price.
The place of New Zealand in the sun has a price.
Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal
The recently published derma.plus skin cancer index from 2018 reveals that nearly 2,500 new cases of melanoma were diagnosed each year in New Zealand
. The difference was the money New Zealand spent on health – about $ 57 million a year for skin cancer alone. Meanwhile, Sweden, which has the fourth highest rate of skin cancer in the world, has spent more than any other country.
Nigeria, ranked 56th for melanoma, had the least access to treatment. The report, which analyzed health and public expenditure data from 62 countries, indicated that skin cancer causes one life every 10 minutes around the world.
Melanoma was the worst type of skin cancer to get.
Melanoma New Ze Rosalie Stephens, City Councilor, said the numbers were still weighted relative to an older generation.
"We still have a generation of seniors who have been very different from the UV that our young people today."
Joy Cole is in the next age group.
She grew up playing in the sun on the north coast of Auckland and three years ago she found a mass near the top of the coast.
"I thought my clothes covered him, where he was, just at the top of my leg." Let's face it, nowadays we did not have these skimpy bathing suits. that they have now. "
She went to her doctor, who removed her but warned her that if it was a melanoma, she would need more surgery One year after the initial discovery, another piece appeared, triggering surgery to remove the lymph nodes.
Melanoma rates were higher in men than women, and in 2015, 18 people aged 25 to 44 years. The chief medical adviser of the global study said that although melanoma rates in New Zealand are high, the death rate was comparatively low.
Prof. Dietrich Abeck stated that adequate health expenditures seemed to be a factor. like New Zealand and Australia, which have one of the highest rates of skin cancer, also have the lowest mortality rates because of high health expenses.
A report from the Health Promotion Agency and Melanoma of all cancers, ski n Cancers were one of the biggest burdens of the health system.
A conservative estimate puts the cost at about $ 57 million a year in direct health care costs.
But the chances of surviving melanoma were better in Australia Rosalie Stephens, who is also an oncologist specializing in the treatment of melanoma, said that one of the reasons was the lack of access to progress in the field of drugs, but that changed
"The major breakthrough has been the introduction of immunotherapy to treat advanced melanoma, and specifically the drugs called PD-1 inhibitors, which means that many more people survive secondary melanoma, "said Dr. Stephens
.
The keytruda immunotherapy drug, was funded in 2016.
Ms. Cole was among those to welcome her availability, but an adverse reaction meant that she can no longer use one She was now in chemotherapy treatment.
Her message to the youths today was d & # 39; be aware of any change in their skin, and have any concerns checked.
Dr. Stephens was encouraged by the signs that young people were taking the message seriously.
"The environment in which young people live with regard to UV is completely different, thanks to all the public health practices that have been put in place.
"Prevention is so much more effective than"
Dr. Stephens said that the application of sunscreen on a regular basis remained an effective method of prevention
But people should still see a doctor promptly if they noticed a new pigmented spot on their skin.
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