Patient Support Hub funding package

In his 2019 Budget Reply Speech on April 4, the Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten announced his Medicare Cancer Plan, to come into effect should the Australian Labor Party form government following the 2019 federal election victory.

As part of this plan, The Federal Opposition has pledged $4 million over 4 years to fund the National Patient Support Hub being launched by Australia’s leading Pancreatic Cancer organisation, the Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation.

Pancreatic Cancer is more common and more virulent cancer than most understand. This year, Pancreatic Cancer will kill virtually as many Australians as Breast Cancer. The likelihood of being alive 5 years after being diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer is less than 10% - this compares to a five year survival rate of 95% for Prostate Cancer patients. In fact, 4 out of 5 patients diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer are unable to be operated on, and will die within 12 months of the day they receive their diagnosis.

“We call Pancreatic Cancer ‘The Cancer of our Generation’. We are firm in our belief every Pancreatic Cancer patient should have instant access to advice, support and direction, especially as almost all of them have only months to live” said Caroline Kelly, Founder and Director of the Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. “In one, easy-to-access national environment, The Pancreatic Cancer Patient Hub will guide patients to practitioners, facilities and support services, provide a network for the community to build support and share experiences. It will give Pancreatic Cancer patients, currently suffering alone and in silence, a voice to drive change and better research outcomes. It will also unlock access to valuable patient data to help the medical community understand patients better and develop new ways to improve treatment”.

Download the full media release for more information.