Rating health
December 9, 2009
Survival rates are higher for Canadian cancer patients but lower for stroke patients when compared to other developed countries, a new international ranking of health quality indicators shows.
Canada's survival rates for cervical, breast and colorectal cancers are among the highest in the developed world, says a report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, released Tuesday.
But the report, titled Health at a Glance, also found Canadian stroke patients have a higher risk of dying in hospital within 30 days of admission.
The lives of a greater number of cancer patients are saved, in part, because Canada screens more people than most other countries, it states.
Canada's five-year relative survival rate for cervical cancer patients during 2000 to 2005 was 72 per cent, (compared to OECD average of 66 per cent). For breast cancer, the five-year survival rate was 87 per cent, (average 81 per cent) and for colorectal cancer it was 62 per cent for women and 60 per cent for men (avg. 58 and 59 respectively).
Theresa Boyle
Toronto Star
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