Improving the detection of cancer was among the very first population-level intervention pursued by Cancer Council Victoria. Today, we promote the early detection of cancer through national screening programs for cervical, breast, and bowel cancers; doctor-assisted checks (e.g. of skin); and education about the symptoms of cancer. But no sophisticated screening techniques existed when we were founded, and we relied entirely on education about the symptoms.
The cervical smear test added a powerful tool for identifying pre-symptomatic disease. Cancer Council Victoria helped establish the first cervical cytology clinic at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1959, and a Victorian Cytology Service at Prince Henry's Hospital in 1964. Mammography for breast cancer and the faecal occult blood test (FOBT) for bowel cancer allowed creation of national screening programs for cervical, breast, and bowel cancers in the 1990s and 2000s. These programs have eased suffering and reduced cancer mortality across the country. Now, we look forward to a national lung cancer screening program, due to be established in 2025.
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