Blood cancer patients, families, and clinicians featured prominently in national media last week, highlighting the impact of treatment delays and limited medicine access.
Stem Cell Transplant Delays
Coverage focused on the experiences of patients waiting for allogeneic stem cell transplants:
Liz Barnes spoke about missing the window for transplant after several months on the waitlist and is now receiving palliative care.
TV and radio presenter Mel Homer shared that she has undergone two rounds of chemotherapy and is preparing for further cycles while she waits for a transplant.
‘It tears at your soul’: the cancer crisis robbing Kiwis of their shot at survival | Stuff
‘Really scary’: TV star shares confronting cancer photos and her anger at delays | Stuff
Medicine Access and ‘Medical Migration’
Stories also highlighted the effect of slow funding decisions for new medicines:
Tawhai Reti and his family are thinking of relocating to Australia so he can access daratumumab, a standard-of-care myeloma treatment not publicly funded in New Zealand.
Geoff Dawson described how self-funding daratumumab has changed his prognosis but created a significant financial burden.
Jo Neep shared her experience as a ‘medical migrant’ already living in Australia to receive treatment.
Clinicians, including Dr Rodger Tiedemann and Dr Judith Trotman, compared New Zealand’s medicine funding with other countries and outlined the impact on patients and the workforce.
Blood cancer patients say govt breaking promise on life-saving drugs | RNZ News
'Medical migrant' seeks life in Australia | Stuff
NZ's slow uptake of cancer treatments driving doctors offshore | RNZ News
Other reporting illustrated the extreme measures patients are taking to access unfunded medicines, from drawing down on KiwiSaver to travelling overseas for cutting-edge therapies.
We would love to hear your experiences and stories. Please reach out to us:
- For advocacy and policy questions: rosies@leukaemia.org.nz
- For general support, resources, or other enquiries: supportservices@leukaemia.org.nz
