According to the Australian Medical Association of Queensland (AMAQ), the health department of the state is not telling the truth regarding waiting time duration for cancer treatments.

Some patients who have their radiation procedure postponed are not mentioned in the Queensland Health's hospital performance reports, said Dr Mason Stevenson, president of AMAQ.

About 4,000 cancer patients are not receiving the radiation treatment in Queensland every single year due to constricted resources, Dr Stevenson said.

The real figures about the waiting times of cancer patients, he said, have been kept a secret.

We have been led astray by Queensland Health statisticians that have led us to believe that in fact we are providing a bigger and better radiotherapy service for Queenslanders and that is plainly not the truth, said Dr Stevenson.

We are actually losing the battle.

Queensland Health, however, stated its hospital reports carried accurate statistics.

Liz Kenny, spokeswoman for Queensland Health said the patients who were not in the quarterly reports did not experience waiting delays for their treatments.

It's not a meaningful list in terms of looking at your lack of access to care, said Ms Kenny.

The figures, she said were not relevant as most patients not included in the report were postponed to receive other treatments first.

There's nothing secret or mysterious about that, she said.

Patients have also been booked for many months in advance, she said.

For example women who are diagnosed with early breast cancer who are having surgery and then who are having money months of chemotherapy and whom radiation therapy would follow after the treatment, said Ms Kenny.

However, every patient must be counted in the performance reports, said Dr Stevenson, in order for us to know the right number of Queenslanders who are waiting to receive their radiation treatment.

Medicine Cancer