Managing lymphoedema

Many patients with advanced breast cancer develop lymphoedema either after surgery or as a result of cancer itself.

My Life Matters campaign a big success

New Zealanders have had a gutsful of restricted access to medicines. That’s what My Life Matters campaign organiser Malcolm Mulholland has concluded from his pre-election whistlestop tour of the country over the last 5 weeks. In meetings from Whangārei to Invercargill, patients and their families shared their experiences of being denied cancer and other medicines that they would receive free in other countries. BCAC and our members understand this struggle all too well. New Zealand still trails behind other countries badly, with 18 breast cancer medicines that are recommended in international guidelines not publicly funded here.

Treating advanced breast cancer in New Zealand – do we match other countries?

BCAC Committee Member, Metavivor and medical writer Marion Barnett recently reviewed all the latest information on the treatment of advanced breast cancer in New Zealand and overseas. Marion has written an excellent article describing our current situation for each sub-type, including which treatments are recommended internationally and which are available here. Unfortunately, New Zealand is still a long way from providing the standards of care recommended in international guidelines and currently available in many other countries. Access to modern medicines to treat advanced breast cancer remains alarmingly restricted for kiwi women, and this is reflected in our poor survival statistics.

Do you have a birthday coming up?

If you do, and you don’t really need any more stuff, why not set up a Gift Registry with The Good Registry? That means your family and friends can celebrate your big day without fuss and you can all support BCAC at the same time. It’s easy to do – here’s how:

Step 1: Head to thegoodregistry.com. Click the button for Registries.