Diagnoses dips

There were 193 fewer cancer registrations in the month of August – half of which the country spent in level 4 Covid19 lockdown – compared with previous years, new data shows. A report from Te Aho o Te Kahu (Cancer Control Agency) yesterday looked at the disruption to cancer services caused by Covid-19 to the end of August, after New Zealand went into lockdown at 11.59pm on August 17. It found that cancer treatment services were largely maintained during the August lockdown, but that there was a disruption to diagnostic services – contributing to a 9 per cent reduction compared to August 2018/19. The dip in new cancer registrations was most notable for prostate, colorectal and skin cancers.