According to Cancer Council, improvements in cancer prevention, early detection, screening and treatment have saved the lives of over 107,000 Australians over the past 20 years.

However while the death rate has gone down, the number of people being diagnosed with cancer is increasing.

Olga Forner, president of Can Assist in Griffith in NSW's Riverina, said the most important thing for residents to do is to make sure they are being checked regularly.

"If you feel there's something not right - have it checked," Mrs Forner said.

"People need to get continually checked if they have any pain. Sometimes people have no idea and just go for a simple blood test and something will show."

Mrs Forner said it was crucial no Griffith residents fall into a mindset where they think only other people can get cancer.

"It can affect anybody, at any time, at any age," she said. "There is no set rule on who gets cancer."

The Can Assist president said cancer rates in Griffith are comparable to the rest of the world, but the tight knit nature of the community can often make it feel much worse.

IN OTHER NEWS:

While cancer rates haven't relented, Mrs Forner said she has seen improvements over the past few years and that treatments appeared to be getting better.

"I've been doing this for about 17 years now," she said.

"My first years were horrific. Cancer was being found later and diagnosed at a higher grade. Now it's being found much earlier."

Mrs Forner said Griffith had "very good" doctors, and she was full of praise towards the Griffith Oncology Unit and local palliative care nurses, however she also admitted that more could always be done.

Heading in to 2020, Mrs Forner said Can Assist was looking forward to what would hopefully be a more normal year.

"We just really hope we can get a really normal year so we can go back to fundraising and build up funds again because we need to be there for our community," she said.

"We need to be sure when somebody walks through the door we can say 'yes we can help you'."

World Cancer Day is on Thursday, February 4.