On the afternoon of Tuesday, October 10, a kaumatua-led procession of men and women walked to the steps of Parliament seeking Hope for Families of those affected by breast cancer in New Zealand. Two coffins, one for each of the two women who die from breast cancer in New Zealand every day, were carried in remembrance of those who have gone before.  One painted pink, the other polished wood decorated with ponga fronds, symbolic of the high Maori death rate from breast cancer.

Anne Hayden, chair of the Herceptin Heroes had this to say to over 200 MPs, officials and members of the public: “When I brought the Anne Hayden Herceptin Petition to Parliament with the support of BCAC and Herceptin Heroes on 16 March, I had no idea I would have to be here again almost seven months later. I naively believed that the voices of 18,166 people would be listened to. They signed the Petition because saving women’s lives was important to them… The Minister of Health and the Prime Minister have frequently referred to equity in health care being an aim of this Government. If they mean it, they should see to it now. The futures of our families are at stake.”

Auckland breast surgeon John Harman told those gathered how hard it is to break the news to women that they have the Her2 aggressive cancer and even harder that the drug they need to fight it is not funded for them. Foremost in the minds of all who attended was PHARMAC’s ongoing refusal to provide the drug Herceptin for those women with early stage Her2 positive breast cancer (it is already available to those women with advanced Her2 positive disease). Treatment of early breast cancer aims to cure the disease while treatment at the late stage is valuable in that it can prolong life, but can not achieve a cure. All speakers urged the government to fund the drug for early breast cancer immediately.

Worst fears were confirmed this week on Monday 16th when PHARMAC again reinforced its decision not to fund the drug.  This leaves New Zealand in the company of the Slovak and Czech Republics, Turkey, Poland and South Korea as OECD countries not funding Herceptin while Australia and the UK are among 22 OECD countries investing in their women’s futures by funding it. New Zealand is the only country to have assessed the benefits and refused funding - the other five have yet to make a decision.

Speakers from BCAC highlighted Hope for Families concerns regarding inadequacies in the provision of a range of pharmaceutical treatments for breast cancer, care for Māori and Pacifican women with breast cancer, the lack of resources for BreastScreen Aotearoa to meet its screening targets, the proposed deregistration of breast physicians and the need for national guidelines to standardise treatment and care for those with breast cancer in New Zealand.

BCAC chair Libby Burgess concluded by saying: “There is so much that needs to be done to eliminate inequities and bring New Zealand’s standards of detection, treatment and care up to that of other developed countries.   Urgent action on these issues is what will bring hope to our families.”