Two of the country’s major breast cancer charities have joined forces to plead for the 160 women denied public access to the breakthrough breast cancer drug, Perjeta.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) and the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF) are calling on Pharmac to extend funding for Perjeta to women already being treated with Herceptin.
The latest in new and innovative breast cancer treatments and recent developments to empower patients were discussed at the Australia New Zealand Breast Cancer Clinical Trials Group (ANZBCTG) conference in Australia.
Five BCAC committee members attended the conference which focused on the theme Partners for Progress in Breast Cancer Research and Care.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) is thrilled that New Zealand women with advanced breast cancer will finally be able to get the breakthrough breast cancer drug Perjeta from next year, but is bitterly disappointed that a large number will be denied access to this potentially life-extending medicine.
Moana Papa, a long-time committee member of the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC), talks about her secondary breast cancer diagnosis.
A group of Kiwis with secondary breast cancer have made a desperate video plea in support of a campaign for greater access to medicines to give them a better chance at life.
The moving video is part of the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition’s (BCAC) drive to get thousands to sign an open letter to the Minister of Health calling for an urgent increase in funding for medicines.
Storage King NZ is turning pink again this breast cancer month to help support the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) and the thousands of New Zealanders diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
Now in its fourth year Storage King NZ’s October campaign will see $1 from very tea chest sold during the month donated to BCAC.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) is excited to partner with the Karen Louisa Foundation to better support New Zealanders with secondary breast cancer.
The Karen Louisa Foundation will donate $20,000 to BCAC over the next year as the organisation launches a special focus on women with secondary breast cancer.
BCAC chairperson, Libby Burgess, says the aim is to better support the hundreds of New Zealanders currently living with secondary breast cancer.
A recent US study has highlighted the benefits of mindfulness and meditation for women diagnosed with breast cancer.
The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, examined a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Breast Cancer programme using a randomised clinical trial in more than 300 women who had received recent treatment for breast cancer.
Taking hormone drugs for more than ten years could help to dramatically reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence, according to a landmark study.
A randomised clinical trial involving nearly 2,000 women found that cancer recurrence dropped by a third in those who took hormone drugs for ten years rather than the standard five.
Researchers hope that three new breakthrough drugs designed to target triple negative breast cancer could potentially transform therapy for those with the hard-to-treat disease.
There are currently no targeted therapies for those with triple negative breast cancer leaving medical care reliant on traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.