How we can stop blood cancer wrecking lives
The Leukaemia Foundation recently released an important snapshot of Australia’s blood cancer landscape, the second edition of the State of the Nation: Blood Cancer in Australia report.
The research, based on a survey of more than 4,000 people living with blood cancer, the biggest in our history, gives powerful insight into the many ways blood cancer can cause harm and how we can help people not only survive, but thrive.
It means, together, we can be laser-focused on what we need to achieve now, to stop blood cancer from wrecking lives.
Your support is here, stepping up to every challenge and opportunity that’s now before us.
When people face blood cancer, the financial burden can be overwhelming. Like blood cancer survivor Vanessa Black, who you’ll meet in this issue, many people can face huge out-of-pocket costs for tests, treatment, transport and more. In fact, we now know that 15% of people had cumulative out-of-pocket costs of over $10,000. For Vanessa, it was your generosity that made sure she could get to and from life-saving treatment.
Accelerating research was one of the most important priority areas identified by people living with blood cancer – and it’s something we’re very passionate about, too. Your support is already supercharging the incredible work of Australia’s next generation of research talent, like Dr Sun Loo and Dr Jessica Elliott, who tell us more about their exciting research in this issue.
Rural families face some of the biggest barriers to getting the best treatment, and the generosity of people like you is making a life-saving difference. After years of fighting blood cancer, Graeme Ardern was running out of options. Everything changed when he was able to access a life-saving clinical trial in the city, made possible thanks to Leukaemia Foundation accommodation near the hospital. The happy tears his family cried when given the news that Graeme was finally in remission are tears shared by us all.
Thank you for everything you’re making possible.
Chris Tanti
Chief Executive Officer
Leukaemia Foundation