QAIHC and Queensland Health have launched a new holistic approach to cancer care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Achieving Health Equity in Cancer Care with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders: Joint Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council and Queensland Health Framework 2024 (the Framework) was released at the Joint First Nations Forum in August.

The Framework centres the voices of those with lived experience of cancer, prioritises cultural safety in cancer care, prevention and early detection, culturally safe health and cancer literacy, and providing optimal patient-centred cancer care.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, cancer has now emerged as the leading cause of death, with largely preventable cancers of the digestive system and lungs the most prevalent.1

QAIHC Acting Chief Executive Officer Paula Arnol said it was critical that the voices of First Nations patients be centred in the drafting of the Framework.

“I am heartened to see that this work has included some of the stories of those who have survived cancer, and this lived experience has guided the Framework,” Ms Arnol said.

“I know that the stories have been shared to guide the work we need to do and we need to respect and build on this sharing of wisdom.

“I’d like to thank Des McGrady for sharing his story in the Framework, because it exemplifies what we’ve been saying for decades, centuries — listen to us.”

Mr McGrady’s Stage 4 Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma was misdiagnosed as a sinus infection by his previous doctor in Darwin.

It took 18 months from the onset of symptoms before another doctor in Brisbane discovered the cancer.

Des required many months of care, including 35 radiation treatments and three rounds of chemotherapy. He is now cancer free and enjoying life with his family.

However, for far too many, this isn’t the case.

“Our services and communities continue to see the impact of cancer and the uncertainty and grief that it brings to families,” Ms Arnol said.

“We continue to see poorer long-term outcomes for liver, lung and pancreas cancers, with lung cancer now the leading cause of cancer death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland.”2

  1. Indigenous Health Performance Framework. (n.d.). 1.08 Cancer. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://www.indigenoushpf.gov.au/measures/1-08-cancer ↩︎
  2. Queensland Health. (2021). Cancer insights: A focus on Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities 2012-2021 (1st edition). Cancer Alliance Queensland. ↩︎