First ever Brain Cancer Action Week
Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, has launched the inaugural Brain Cancer Action Week.
Brain Cancer Action Week will bring together medical research institutes, clinicians and Cancer Councils to boost scientific research and to raise awareness about brain cancer.
Brain cancer is rare, but deadly. While less than 1 person in 190 is diagnosed with brain cancer, sufferers have only a 19% chance of surviving for five years – placing it among the lowest five-year cancer survival rates in Australia.
The Australian Government is committed to fighting cancer through prevention, early detection and evidence-based treatment and care.
Last year the Government committed a record $2 billion to build a world-class cancer care system for Australia.
This will help take up the fight against cancer and includes:
- $526 million to build two Integrated Cancer Centres that will provide state-of-theart cancer treatment, combined with cutting-edge research – Lifehouse at RPA in Sydney and the Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Melbourne.
- $70 million to expand the Garvan/St Vincent’s Cancer Centre in Sydney.
- $560 million to build a network of best practice regional cancer centres.
- A total of $24.4 million has been awarded for research grants related to brain cancers over the past decade by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) – the Government’s main health and medical research agency.
Alongside research, the Australian Government is funding the Support for Cancer Clinical Trials program. Under this program in 2008, Cancer Australia has established the Cooperative Trials Group for Neuro-Oncology, which has since been awarded a total of $530,000 to continue its important work in conducting clinical trials in brain tumours.
Brain Cancer Action Week is an initiative from the New South Wales (NSW) Cancer Council and the Cancer Council of Australia, building on the success of the NSW Council’s Grey Matters campaign to increase research into the disease.
The overall chances of being diagnosed with cancer under the age of 75 are 1 in 3 for men and 1 in 4 for women.
