In this interview on ABC News Breakfast, the Leukaemia Foundation’s Head of Research, Bill Stavreski, discusses new world-first research revealing that First Nations Australians are dying from blood cancer at significantly higher rates than non-Indigenous Australians, and often at a much younger age.
Commissioned by the Leukaemia Foundation and led by the University of Queensland’s First Nations Cancer and Wellbeing Research team, the study consulted First Nations patients, carers, health professionals and community organisations. It uncovered serious gaps across the cancer journey, including low awareness and late diagnosis, long-distance travel for treatment, financial strain, and a lack of culturally safe information and care. Workforce shortages and limited cultural capability within the health system were also identified as key contributors to the survival gap.
The findings provide a clear roadmap for action. Beyond improving medical treatment, addressing inequities will require greater cultural safety, better access to information and support, and delivering care closer to home and community. The Leukaemia Foundation remains committed to ensuring no one faces blood cancer alone and continues to support First Nations Australians with accommodation, transport assistance, education, and emotional and financial support, while calling for urgent national action to close the survival gap.