Cancer specialists warn of five-week delays, ‘backlog pile’ and overwhelm

Senior investigative reporter·NZ Herald·28 Sep, 2026 04:00 PM7 mins to read‌Associate Professor Diane Kenwright says pathologists are overwhelmed and distressed by delays in reporting results to potential cancer patients. They're urging Health Minister Simeon Brown to fund more pathology training positions. The Government is expanding access to critical scans and tests, including colonoscopies and cervical smears, to cut wait times and find cancers faster. But the specialists who determine whether a patient has cancer or not say they’ve been sidelined, underfunded, and their workforce is “at a cliff edge”. Now, as