Every day, nine women in Aotearoa are diagnosed with breast cancer.
Every day, nine women in Aotearoa are diagnosed with breast cancer.
Breast cancer experts are urging Pharmac to fast-track funding for a life-saving drug for the deadliest form of the disease.
The drug is called pembrolizumab (branded as Keytruda) and it is used to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Between 10 to 15 per cent of breast cancers are triple negative, meaning they don’t have the hormone receptors (oestrogen, progesterone and HER2) found in other types.
It has a much lower survival rate due to the few treatment options available. It is more likely to occur in younger women.
Breast Cancer Foundation NZ chief executive Ah-Leen Rayner explained there are no funded targeted treatments for TNBC in New Zealand, meaning it has a higher risk of returning or spreading.
Rayner said this is the first medicine to offer TNBC patients hope, with clinical trials proving it can save and extend women’s lives.
“But we know Pharmac’s approval process could take years and Kiwis are in dire need of Keytruda now,” Rayner said.
“We’re urging Pharmac to give Keytruda the priority it deserves, and the Government to increase Pharmac’s budget because without appropriate levels of investment, Pharmac’s list of approved drugs will remain meaningless.”
Breast Cancer Foundation NZ chief executive Ah-Leen Rayner hopes Pharmac will act swiftly to fund the life-saving drug.
She said New Zealand was already “out of step” with international best practices.
Last month, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Health Minister Shane Reti unveiled the highly anticipated mobile breast screening unit, a major step in catching breast cancer early.
Reti said the unit is expected to reach 6000 women a year and focuses on women who have never been screened.
“Mobile breast screening clinics continue to be a really important part of reaching our communities, particularly for those who don’t have access to transport or who live in rural or remote areas,” Reti said.
Reti was at the Manukau SuperClinic in January to announce the breast cancer screening cut-off age would rise from 69 to 74 within the next three years.
He said the Government’s plan would mean an average of two to three extra mammograms when the programme was fully implemented.
