A quarter-century of cancer data is now available in a report jointly released by the Canadian Cancer Society, Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada on Tuesday.
The Canadian Cancer Statistics 2022 special report on cancer prevalence sheds light on the most common forms of cancer over the 25 years between 1994 and 2018, as well as the populations most likely to be diagnosed.
As the number of people living with cancer, or living post-cancer, in Canada rises, so will the demand for cancer support and care.
The report aims to help identify gaps in health care and cancer care, and offer some clues as to how resources can be allocated to fill those gaps, according to Jeff Latimer, director general of health statistics with Statistics Canada.
“Timely and accurate data on cancer prevalence in Canada is critical to understanding the disease’s toll on society and our healthcare system,” Latimer said in a media release issued on Tuesday.
“Data are invaluable in assessing cancer outcomes, measuring how far we’ve come, and identifying areas for improvement.”
CTVNews.ca explores some key findings from the report below.
All of the following rates are per 100,000 people, over a period of 25 years, unless noted otherwise. The report did not include data for Quebec.
PREVALENCE BY TYPE
According to the report, cancer in reproductive organs and colorectal cancer are most prevalent across Canada, by a wide margin.
From 1994 to 2018, breast cancer accounted for 19.4 per cent of all diagnoses, while prostate cancer accounted for 17.8 per cent and colorectal cancer accounted for 11.3 per cent.
A graph showing the prevalence of cancer per 100,000 people by type as of 2018. (Canadian Cancer Registry/Canadian Cancer Society)Melanoma accounted for 5.5 per cent of diagnoses, thyroid cancer accounted for 5 per cent, bladder cancer for 4.6 per cent, non-hodgkin lymphoma for 4.5 per cent, uterine cancer for 4.4 per cent, lung and bronchus cancers for 4.1 per cent, kidney and renal pelvis cancer for 3.2 per cent and all other cancers for 20.2 per cent.
PREVALENCE BY DURATION
According to the study, most people – 60.9 per cent – who had cancer or were living post-cancer were five to 25 years out from their diagnosis. This duration accounted for the majority of people who had been diagnosed with breast, prostate and colorectal cancer.
A further 20.7 per cent were between two and five years out, and 18.4 per cent were zero to two years out.
Among people with lung and bronchus cancers, 37.5 per cent were between zero and two years out from diagnosis, 37.1 per cent were between five and 25 years out and 25.4 per cent were between two and five years out.
According to the report, the first couple of years after diagnosis are when patients are most likely to be receiving primary cancer treatment or recovering from its effects.
“The third to fifth year after diagnosis is a period that typically requires close clinical follow-up for recurrence or another primary cancer, as well as supportive care,” the report states.
“People alive more than five years after a cancer diagnosis have likely completed their treatment, but some may still need clinical monitoring and supportive care.”
RURAL-URBAN PREVALENCE
Over study periods of two and five years, all cancers were generally more prevalent in rural settings compared to urban settings.
This was the case in all provinces and territories, except Nunavut where the entire population was considered rural, and Manitoba, where prevalence was about equal.
A graph showing rural and urban cancer prevalence per 100,000 people as of 2018. (Canadian Cancer Registry/Canadian Cancer Society)One factor driving this urban-rural divide is likely age, the report states, since Canadians living in rural areas are typically older than those living in urban areas and cancer diagnosis rates are higher in seniors.
The report said established cancer risk factors “such as smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity” are also more common among people living in rural areas, compared to those in urban areas.
PREVALENCE BY PROVINCE
Between 1994 and 2018, cancer rates were highest in the eastern provinces and Ontario, and generally lower in the central and western provinces.
Specifically, the prevalence of cancer was highest in Newfoundland and Labrador, followed by New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, in that order. Quebec was not included.
A graph showing cancer prevalence per 100,000 people by province as of 2018. (Canadian Cancer Registry/Canadian Cancer Society)As with rates in urban and rural settings, the authors said differences in age distribution, risk factors and diagnostics influence the rates in each province.
PREVALENCE OVER TIME
The study found national cancer rates per 100,000 people rose gradually over 25 years, from 1994 to 2018. However, the authors attribute the increase to an aging population, as well as better cancer screening and treatments, which both increase the odds of survival across certain cancer types.
The report did not look at environmental factors that might contribute to cancer rates and outcomes, such as exposure to known carcinogens, and said the national data needed to better understand those factors in Canada are “limited or lacking.”
“Together the cancer control community is working to address these important data and knowledge gaps so that we can better identify disparities in outcomes that require increased attention and investment,” the report concludes.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
