Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in children, and adults aged under 40 in Australia, yet alarmingly very little is known about brain cancer, its causes or how it is treated!
That is why the Mark Hughes Foundation was formed so that research can be carried out to decrease mortality rates and decrease the incident of brain cancer in Australia. We want to make a difference!
Alarming statistics reveal:
On average, approximately 1970 brain cancers are diagnosed each year in Australia; that is roughly 1 person diagnosed with brain cancer every 5 hours.- In 2017, there were 1,809 new cases of brain cancer diagnosed in Australia. In 2021, it is estimated that 1,896 new cases of brain cancer will be diagnosed in Australia.
- In 2019, there were 1,470 deaths from brain cancer in Australia. In 2021, it is estimated that there will be 1,528 deaths.
- In 2021, it is estimated that a person has a 1 in 161 risk of being diagnosed with brain cancer by the age of 85.
- Brain cancer has a very high mortality rate and survival rates have hardly changed for 35 years.
- Brain cancer is the most complex cancer yet it is the most under-studied.
- Brain cancer costs more per patient than any other cancer because of its highly debilitating, affects people in their prime and often means family members cannot work if they become carers
- Brain cancer receives less than 5% of federal government cancer research funding.
Sources:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Cancer Data in Australia 2021 web report and supplementary data tables.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Australasian Association of Cancer Registries 2012. Cancer in Australia: an overview, 2012. Cancer series no. 74. Cat. no. CAN 70. Canberra: AIHW
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2012. ACIM (Australian Cancer Incidence and Mortality) Books. Canberra: AIHW.
The Cost of Cancer NSW – report by Access Economics, Australia wide, April 2007.
NHMRC Funded Research Into Cancer And Other Malignant Neoplasms 2000 – 2014 (published and accessed 2015). NHMRC Sources: Extracted from NHMRC research databases RGMS/RMIS/GMS as at Mar 14