PROUDLY SUPPORTING PEOPLE AFFECTED BY BREAST CANCER FOR 25 YEARS
INTERVIEW WITH BCNA FOUNDER LYN SWINBURNE
B CNA’s Founder, Lyn Swinburne AO, spoke to The Beacon about her pride in the organisation, its most significant achievements over the past 25 years, and about those who joined her in making it all possible. How proud are you of Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA)? My pride is off the scale, but I am also amazed and very emotional about how far we have come and the immense positive difference we have made to so many women and their families. Pride is just one emotion I have when I think about BCNA celebrating 25 years. Which achievements in BCNA’s history are you most proud of? I can think of over 100,000 reasons to be proud, but the first two I think of are being at the MCG in 2005 for the first Field of Women and BCNA’s role in getting Herceptin listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in 2001. Seeing all the women in pink and watching them come down from their seats and onto the ground, that was an amazing feeling for me because of all the history that had gone before that moment.
Who would you like to acknowledge for playing a role in the success of BCNA? There’s a really long line of people I’d like to thank. We called it a network for a reason. The network was about all the individual people who came together to create it. Together, we brought about change. Together, we made a difference for women. Together, we built an organisation that’s strong and healthy and effective.
along the way, particularly Roger and Lesley Gillespie and the team at Bakers Delight.
I would particularly like to pay tribute to the women who stepped up in the early days, before we even really knew what advocacy was, and said, ‘Yes, I’ll be a part of this movement’. The women who were really sick at the time stand out in my mind. They had advanced disease and very limited time left in their lives. They chose to use a not insignificant part of those precious final months and years to help other women. I am also incredibly thankful for all the people who supported us
I can think of over 100,000 reasons to be proud, but the first two I think of are being at the MCG in 2005 for the first Field of Women and BCNA’s role in getting Herceptin listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in 2001. – Lyn Swinburne AO
Lesley Gillespie OAM and Roger Gillespie OAM with Lyn Swinburne AO
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, it felt like there was nowhere to go. I felt alone and very much isolated. Many were advising me on what to do and how I should cope, but they had no idea. BCNA supported me through my survivorship, and gave me the opportunity to make a difference for others. – Raelene Boyle AM, MBE, BCNA Ambassador
We had planted fields of Pink Lady silhouettes before then, but that first Field of Women at the ‘G was like we had brought the silhouettes to life. Not only was it a brilliant result that the drug Herceptin was listed on the PBS, but we also learned how to run a successful political campaign. The women in our network were strong enough and united enough to make it happen. It demonstrated that BCNA was influential and powerful and could bring about real change. In 1998, did you think BCNA would still be going strong today? I didn’t. To be honest, we were focused on fixing what was right in front of us rather than planning for the future, and it grew organically from there. The only thing that’s disappointing about BCNA still being here 25 years later is that breast cancer is still here too.
Lyn at hospital after her breast cancer diagnosis
Raelene Boyle AM, MBE and Lyn Swinburne AO
Field of Women silent walk in Adelaide, 2004
The first Field of Women in Canberra, 1998
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June 2023 | Issue 95
Breast Cancer Network Australia
bcna.org.au
Issue 95 | June 2023
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