Geoff Voller is one of tens of thousands of Australians who had the diagnosis or treatment of their cancer delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic and experts warn the effects in the coming months could be significant.
Data from Cancer Australia shows between March and April this year there was a 55 per cent drop in colonoscopies
Earlier this year Mr Voller got the shock diagnosis of stage four jaw cancer — and his world changed.With the risk of coronavirus, it has proven an even tougher time than usual to be a cancer patient.It started with a pain in his gum in December. His dentist initially thought it was a minor issue caused by food getting stuck between his teeth.
Mr Voller was rushed into surgery at the Chris O'Brien Lifehouse cancer treatment centre in Sydney to remove the entire left side of his jaw and eight hours later he emerged with a new jaw, fashioned from part of his fibula leg bone. He is now undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.Professor Dorothy Keefe says people should not put off seeing a doctor.
"There was a 30 to 50 per cent drop in tests and operations," Cancer Australia CEO Professor Dorothy Keefe told 7.30. Non-surgical treatments for skin cancers fell by 30 per cent from this March to April, but then started to recover in June, as the lockdown restrictions eased. Professor Keefe told 7.30 it was concerning that cancers that were not diagnosed during lockdown may be picked up later "and they may not be as treatable".
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