New Zealand will emerge from lockdown into a deadly unknown with history showing nearly half of new cancer cases will have been missed.
“Cancer won’t wait,” said Te Aho o Te Kahu – Cancer Control Agency chief executive Diana Sarfati as she pointed out that the number of missed cancer diagnoses this lockdown was yet to be measured.
Bowel Cancer New Zealand medical advisor Frank Frizelle was expecting a “tidal wave” of new cases when New Zealand returned to alert level 1 and people felt comfortable going to their general practitioners with symptoms that became noticeable during lockdown. Even at level 2 – New Zealand outside of Auckland – there was a shortage of people going to GPs with cancer symptoms, he said.
