New report from the Cancer Society shows that skin cancer costs New Zealand!

A new report commissioned by the Cancer Society estimates that skin cancer costs the NZ health system in excess of $57 million each year.

The report notes that these costs do not take into account a range of less direct, but very real, costs to the nation relating to loss of life and productivity estimated at an additional $66 million per year. Nor do they account for the costs to the individual sufferer, which often involve pain, disfigurement, worry and, sometimes, time out of work.

Dermatologist, Marius Rademaker, notes that “people often do not realise the potential seriousness of non-melanoma skin cancer, assuming that it’s just something that can easily be cut out or removed. However, many people who have needed treatment for skin cancer will tell you that it is not always simple or painless, and is certainly quite costly particularly if you add in the need to travel, time off work and time for recovery.”

The report’s author, health economist Des O’Dea notes that “it is often assumed that because death rates for non-melanoma skin cancers are very low, this is not a serious concern for health funding decision makers. But, in reality, the large number of cases imposes a significant burden on the health system.”

The report notes that NZ’s melanoma incidence rates are similar to those of Australia but far higher than rates in countries such as Britain, Canada and the US.

Skin cancers are by far the commonest type of cancer. At around 70,000 new cases annually, including around 2,000 cases of melanoma, they account for just over 80 per cent of all new cancers each year. In 2006, there were 287 deaths from melanoma and 102 from non-melanoma skin cancers. NZ also has higher death rates for both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers than Australia.