page_title: Health of prisoners in Australia
section_title: Cancer
hierarchical_section_title: Health of prisoners in Australia / Medical conditions / Physical health / Cancer
caption_attribution_description: English: Gross appearance of the cut surface of a pneumonectomy specimen containing a lung cancer, here a Squamous cell carcinoma (the whitish tumor near the bronchi).
context_page_description: Health care of prisoners in Australia is a major concern to prison institutions around Australia with prison populations increasing in both numbers and rate with an imprisonment rate of 187.3 per 100,000 adults.
  Prisoners in Australia are generally from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background, and have higher rates of tobacco smoking, illicit drug use and alcohol consumption in comparison to the general public. The disadvantages in socioeconomic background develops into a significant disparity in health between prisoners and the general public in Australia.
context_section_description: Cancer is not a singular disease, but numerous diseases where cells from the body develop into invasive abnormalities. These abnormalities damage surrounding tissue, spreading and causing further bodily harm, conclusively leading to death. Numerous types of cancers are leading causes of deaths in Australia, with lung cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer placing in the 5 leading causes of deaths. Cancer accounts for 3 in 10 deaths in Australia.
  Although influenced by factors such as family history, occupational exposure to chemicals and environment pollution, cancer is a major health risk for prisoners in Australia mainly due to their exposure to unhealthy lifestyle habits such as inactivity, poor diet, tobacco smoking and the abuse of illicit drugs.
  Three per cent of prison inmates are diagnosed with a type of cancer, with older prisoners being more susceptible to the disease (9%), compared to younger inmates (1-4%).
caption: The surface of a pneumonectomy specimen containing lung cancer.
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