cancer

A number of technologies and tools got a chance to prove themselves for the first time in the context of COVID-19. They are now poised to continue making big changes in medicine.

During the first few months of 2020, a new virus was quickly and silently spreading across borders. We didn’t know it then, but we would soon be in the grips of a global pandemic. By the end of March, Australia had taken unprecedented steps and had shut its borders and was on lock-down. As with […]

Cancer care during the COVID-19 crisis has been “de-prioritised, delayed,” and in some places, discontinued, especially in the early days of the pandemic. Cancer patients “are facing disruption for all but the most urgent procedures,” a May article in The Lancet said. This month, Cancer Australia revealed data showing a 16-57% drop in some cancer […]

What will cancer care look like in the future? Will we be living in a world without fear of cancer?

The results might surprise you.

An Expert Steering Committee has been established to help develop a 10-year national preventive health strategy. Led by Health Department Deputy Secretary Dr Lisa Studdert, the committee includes experts from public health, research and health promotion sectors. The strategy will centre on early intervention and better information to improve the health of Australians and is […]

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service recently heard the government had worked out how to pay for extra workers’ compensation to firefighters who develop cancer, while it recognised 21 of its members and 11 units for bravery and exceptional service.

Australia already has an ecosystem that is globally recognised for one of the best cancer outcomes worldwide. But there is still room to improve value-based cancer services and develop world-leading care pathways that benefit both the patient and the Australian economy.

A new wave of immunotherapy cancer treatments are on our doorstep. And they have the potential to revolutionise the way we treat cancer.

Australia must seriously consider new models for funding immunotherapies into the future, and face the challenge of balancing equity against the sustainability of funding.

A large pipeline of innovative anti-cancer drugs is showing promising clinical results, but is challenging traditional health access and reimbursement policies.

A mix of prevention, early intervention, innovative medicines and data analytics is leading to confidence we may be able to finally beat the scourge of cancer.

The announcement of free health screenings for former government weed sprayers came after an inquiry found a plausible link between cancers found among the workers and pesticides they were exposed to.