Vital funding boost to support Australian women with breast cancer
5 January 2019
Prime Minister, Minister for Health
The Liberal National Government will increase the number of breast care nurses in Australia to almost 100 with a funding injection of $27 million to support women with breast cancer.
Every day across Australia, about 50 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Australian women.
This funding will support the expansion of the McGrath Breast Care Nurse Initiative. McGrath Breast Care Nurses are specially trained to care for people diagnosed with breast cancer, providing vital support to patients and their families.
This doubling of funding will ensure 98 specialist Breast Care Nurses by 2022/23, building on $20.5 million already invested by our Government in this initiative.
The funding will add another 41 nurses to the team of 57 currently funded by the Federal Government.
More than 30 specialist nurses will now be dedicated to supporting metastatic breast cancer patients and their loved ones.
Metastatic breast cancer requires complex care and these nurses will now be able to spend more time supporting patients and their families.
The McGrath Breast Care Nurse Initiative has supported more than 33,000 people since 2008 and was created to support women everywhere suffering from breast cancer.
Since 2013, the Liberal National Government has invested more than $10 billion in cancer support initiatives including research, treatment and cancer screening programs.
We recent invested $703 million to list Kisqali on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, a life-changing breast cancer medicine, supporting 3,000 women.
The PBS listing cut the cost of the medicine from $71,000 to $40.30 per script or $6.50 for concession card holders.
And on November 1 last year we provided a new Medicare item for 3D breast cancer scans, helping around 240,000 women each year.
