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Two new medications for leukaemia and lymphoma have been added to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme reducing the price from $100,000 a year to $30 a script.
Mother of three Skye Hollingsworth was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia six months ago.
She quit her job to undergo intensive chemotherapy.
“Acute myeloid leukaemia is the most common acute leukaemia in adults,” Associate Professor Shaun Fleming at The Alfred Hospital said.
“It is highly aggressive, patients often go very quickly to being well and in the community to being in hospital.”
But now she is in remission.
“It is just so unbelievably relieving and I’m so grateful,” she said.
However, relapses of this type of cancer are common.
“The majority of patients will unfortunately relapse and relapse for many of our patients leads to them succumbing to the illness,” Fleming said.
Most patients haven’t been able to access treatment to reduce the chance of the leukaemia returning.
Until now.
The health minister has revealed to 9News that two new life saving drugs will be listed on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) to treat blood cancers including leukaemia and lymphoma.
One of those drugs – Onureg – is for patients in remission from acute myeloid leukaemia.
“This will certainly improve the survival for a proportion of patients with AML,” Fleming said.
The other drug – Brukinsa Zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) – can be used as an alternative to chemotherapy for some patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma, diseases affecting around 2000 Australians each year.
“These cutting edge treatments will give new hope to patients who are dealing with some of the real challenges of these different types of blood cancer,” health minister Mark Butler said.
“Without listing on the PBS [they] might be paying $100,000 or $150,000 for a year of treatment.”
Hollingsworth is looking forward to moving forward with her life cancer-free but finds comfort in knowing with the drugs being listed on the PBS she has a better chance of staying that way.
“It’s incredibly important for peace of mind, and to make sure something is working on my body so I don’t need to go through this again,” she said.
