July 23, 2018
The Leukaemia Foundation welcomes the Federal Government’s $50 million funding of The Australian Genomic Cancer Medicine Program that will see some of Australia’s sickest patients accessing potentially life-saving medical treatment.

A Leukaemia Foundation spokesperson said, “This is yet another good initiative by the Federal Government to support our stakeholders with this national program. We are encouraged that the government is taking a decisive view on personalised and tailored treatments for people living with cancers with little or no treatment options.”

“It is also a positive step for cancer treatment as this indicates the government’s interest in clinical trials and that they provide the right evidence to support future Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme listings.”

“The Leukaemia Foundation is working closely with the relevant stakeholders such as the Centre for Cancer Biology and the Royal Adelaide Hospital to include blood cancer as part of the program so that thousands of people living with blood cancer are able to go through such personalised treatments as well.”

While the current announcement does not include any types of blood cancer such as leukaemia, myeloma, lymphoma, over the next 12 months, efforts will be underway to also address the needs of people with blood cancers.

As Australia’s leading blood cancer organisation, the Leukaemia Foundation has invested over $38 million in blood cancer research to develop psychosocial supports for people living with blood cancer and their families, determine the genetic causes of disease, develop, and explore new personalised treatment options like immunotherapy and support their testing through clinical trials.

We have been supporting Australia’s best and up and coming researchers and haematologists for over a decade with a vision to ultimately find cures for leukaemia, myeloma, lymphoma and other blood related disorders.