Key points
- Blood cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma collectively account for almost 6000 deaths every year, making it the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer.
- As many as 2900 preventable deaths could be avoided every year if regional patients received the same care as their counterparts in the city, the report found.
- More than a third of 4600 patients surveyed said they paid more than $5000 in treatment costs out of their own pocket, and 15 per cent paid more than $10,000
Barry Du Bois knows he’s a lucky man. When he was diagnosed with cancer for a second time in 2017, the TV presenter was living in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and had access to the best treatment in the country. That isn’t the case for everyone.
“Going through that treatment, I saw that many people who lived in regional areas didn’t get the same sort of same quality of care as I did,” he said.
“That’s not because of the individuals giving the care, it’s just because we don’t have the resources and understanding of the most modern treatments available.”
TV presenter Barry Du Bois, 62, says an active lifestyle helped his recovery from cancer.Credit:Edwina Pickles
This city-country divide is costing lives. Blood cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma collectively account for almost 6000 deaths every year, making it the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer. But a report released by the Leukaemia Foundation on Monday estimates as many as 2900 preventable deaths could be avoided every year if regional patients received the same care as their counterparts in the city.
Du Bois, now 62, received an early diagnosis and high-quality care for his multiple myeloma – a non-curable blood cancer he still lives with today. But for Katrina Richards, from Narrabri in northern NSW, it took five years and a chance encounter with a specialist to finally get a diagnosis for Sézary syndrome, a rare form of lymphoma affecting the skin.
Katrina Richards, 47, at home in Narrabri, northern NSW.Credit:
Her symptoms quickly progressed from a burning itch around 2010 to excruciating full-body rashes and regular wet wrap therapy in Sydney for what her doctors believed was psoriasis. It ended up being cancer.
“It wasn’t until 2015 when I was referred to a rheumatologist who was visiting Narrabri and whose wife just happened to be researching the early stages of the blood cancer I was eventually diagnosed with,” she says. “He wanted to do a blood test on me. When it came back … It was stage 4 blood cancer.”
After her diagnosis, Richards was travelling constantly between Narrabri and hospitals and treatment clinics in Sydney.
She received financial support from charities during her treatment, but the Leukaemia Foundation’s report found more than one-third of the 4600 patients surveyed said they paid more than $5000 in treatment costs out of their own pocket. Approximately 15 per cent said they paid upwards of $10,000.
Eventually, Richards was told she needed a stem cell transplant and that she had only a 5 per cent chance of making it home. The first treatment failed, but the second was more successful, and she returned to Narrabri after nine months of intense treatment in Sydney.
She had missed out on a lot in that time — her eldest daughter gave birth to her first grandchild and her son graduated from the navy — but five years later and with her cancer in remission, she is grateful to be back home in Narrabri with her two grandchildren and a third on the way.
“If I get struck by lightning tomorrow, I’ve had an extra five years with my family,” she said. “I’m extremely grateful to my doctors for working out what was wrong and finding a solution.”
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Most Viewed in National
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article
