A clear appetite for constructive change: Senator Hughes on Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day

Pharma News: The survival rates for women and men diagnosed with breast cancer have improved significantly, but for more than 10,000 Australians living with metastatic breast cancer, beating the disease remains an impossibility. Each year, more than 3,000 of these patients lose their battle, as metastatic breast cancer continues to claim lives.

Marking Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes highlighted the complexities faced by patients, stating, “I’d like to draw attention to a discussion paper, supported by AstraZeneca, which shines a light on the incredibly challenging reality faced by the estimated 10,500 Australians who are living with metastatic breast cancer. While the survival rate for Australians living with metastatic breast cancer has improved over the past five years, there is still a long way to go.”

She added, “It often comes with never-ending treatment, poor survival rates, and a sense of invisibility. Five years from diagnosis, only a third of patients are still alive. The psychological and financial pressures of living with an incurable cancer are significant and unrelenting. It’s clear that these patients need greater support to help them get through their disease.”

The recently launched discussion paper, Out from the Shadows, underscores the stark reality faced by metastatic breast cancer patients.

“The overarching theme of the report,” Senator Hughes noted, “is that metastatic breast cancer patients experience an acute sense of invisibility in the health system and society. This is a conversation happening among oncologists, breast care nurses, academia, patient advocacy groups, the Department of Health, and state-based cancer councils. Most importantly, it includes the voices of metastatic breast cancer patients themselves.”

In a notable development, from 1 September, Daiichi Sankyo-AstraZeneca’s Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) was expanded on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to provide a new treatment option for patients diagnosed with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low unresectable or metastatic breast cancer.

Additionally, AstraZeneca’s PARP inhibitor Lynparza (olaparib) for HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer with a confirmed BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation was recommended for reimbursement at the July Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).

Senator Hughes called for continued momentum: “It’s time to accelerate the progress we’ve seen over the past few months for metastatic breast cancer patients so that they and their families can come out of the shadows for us all to see, hear, and support.”

One critical area she stressed was mental health support, which is currently lacking.

“Better psychosocial support is absolutely paramount,” she said. “Australians with metastatic breast cancer can access just 10 MBS-funded mental health sessions per year, which is clearly inadequate. This number needs to be urgently revisited, and additional training is needed for mental health experts to support Australians with metastatic cancer.”

Vicki Durston, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Support Services at Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA), echoed these concerns.

“Ongoing treatment is often delivered outside of a hospital setting, and many feel invisible because they aren’t included in national data beyond their early breast cancer diagnosis. What’s more, they can look physically well even though they have a chronic illness,” she said.

Durston also praised the legacy of the late MP Peta Murphy, who was a strong supporter of BCNA’s roadmap for the formation of the National Cancer Data Alliance.

“The alliance, which received federal funding after her death, is designed to ensure that those with life-limiting cancer can feel counted. There is still much work to be done for these people who are hidden in plain sight,” Durston stated.

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