Lower survival rates can indicate late diagnosis, or poorer treatment after diagnosis. Seven out of 10 lung cancers could be curable if caught early. Southern DHB had the worst one-year survival rate, at 34.2 per cent, compared to 46.9 per cent at top-performing Counties Manukau DHB. That was the difference between life and death for 54 Southern patients diagnosed from 2015-2017. Patients in the West Coast, Southern, Lakes and Waikato DHB areas had worse survival rates at one, two and three years. Only 6.7 per cent of West Coast patients survived three years – almost one quarter of Auckland’s 26.2 per cent survival rate. However, small patient numbers make the 3-year survival rates volatile.