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Since 2000, as part of The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation's ‘Research for Life ‘ Programme, The Foundation has provided significant funding - close to $1.5 million - to the development and ongoing management of four New Zealand regional Breast Cancer Patient Registers: Auckland, Waikato, Christchurch and Wellington. The four regional registers began collecting data:
The Foundation would like to see the current regional registers rolled out nationally and is presently advocating for a government-led nationwide breast cancer register; the current four registers would contribute to a national register. Why does New Zealand need a national breast cancer patient register (database)?New Zealand needs a national breast cancer patient register because breast cancer is the most significant health issue for New Zealand women. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths for women. Maori women are one and a half times more likely to die from their cancer than non-Maori and all New Zealand women have a higher death rate from breast cancer when compared to other countries such as Canada, the United States and Australia. Alarmingly, New Zealand's breast cancer death rate is 28% higher than Australia's. What is the purpose of a breast cancer register?A breast cancer register allows us to have a greater understanding of the nature of breast cancer and its treatment in New Zealand women. It records detailed information about diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of patients with breast cancer within New Zealand. For example, the information tells us how well patients do on different treatments and what treatments are most successful. As Gavin Harris, an Anatomical Pathologist in Christchurch highlights, "breast cancer registers help to improve the management and treatment of current and future NZ breast cancer patients". How do we do this?The current regional registers are computerised databases where the information is entered and stored in a confidential manner. Information is fed back to each register's Executive Group before release; the group governs who can use the information/data and for what purpose. For Further Information:Auckland Breast Cancer Register: For detailed information and analysis of the data collected to date, click on the links below: Auckland Breast Cancer Register Poster 2000 - 2008 data (PDF, 125Kb) Breast Cancer Features of Waikato Women Poster 2005-2008 data (PDF, 5.8Mb) Breast Cancer Treatments for Waikato Women Poster 2005-2008 data (PDF, 2.6Mb) Waikato Breast Cancer Register Presentation 2005-2008 data (PDF, 90 KB) Contact Details for Auckland, Waikato, Christchurch and Wellington Registers
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