MELANOMA, bowel and breast cancers are the most common in the Hunter, a snapshot of region's cases shows, while lung cancer proves most deadly.
NSW's chief cancer officer and Cancer Institute NSW chief executive Professor Tracey O'Brien visited the Hunter on Friday as part of a statewide tour of health districts, meeting with cancer service staff to discuss patient outcomes and how to support the region's patients best.
"NSW is recognised as a global leader in cancer care, with survival rates among the best in the world, but there is still much more we can do to lessen the impact of cancer," Professor O'Brien said. "In the Hunter New England Local Health District, it is projected that this year alone 7018 people will be told they have cancer, and 2302 people will lose their lives to the disease."
A Cancer Institute snapshot report prepared specifically on the Hunter New England health district shows which cancers are most common in the region and how to reduce risk of developing them.
In 2022 the data shows 867 detections of melanoma, 854 of bowel cancer and 824 breast cancer confirmations. Lung cancer was fourth most common, with 620 detections, but also the most lethal form with 426 deaths.
The second most common cause of cancer death in the health district was bowel cancer (267 in 2022) followed by prostate cancer (158 deaths), pancreatic cancer (144) and breast cancer (138).
Only 40.2 per cent of Hunter cancer cases are detected in the early stages, when they are most easily treated. That is despite testing rates for bowel, cervical and breast cancer sitting above state averages.
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