Letter CEO FROM THE
W elcome to the June edition of the year, it’s important to reflect on the success and progress we have already made together to continue to support Australians affected by breast cancer. We are celebrating the terrific success of the Bakers Delight Pink Bun 2022 campaign. This year, Bakers Delight stores across Australia raised over $1.2 million for BCNA! Thank you to our wonderful campaign ambassadors, BCNA members Megan, Samantha and Nicholas, and all our friends at Bakers Delight – especially the franchisees and their teams – for their hard work. Thank you to everyone who visited their local bakery to buy fun buns or a Fun Bun Friend – we really appreciate your support. The Beacon where we have focused on issues that help us to look after our wellbeing. While it has been an incredibly busy first six months of In May, we were also thrilled by the amazing efforts of local sporting clubs participating in the Pink Sports Day campaign. There were over 300 events, and we saw seas of pink socks, scrunchies and beanies across the country. We also had a fabulous day at the Melbourne Vixens netball PLAY4BCNA match. Thank you to the Vixens for their support and all those who came along on the day. We were also very pleased with the news that Trodelvy was added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 May. Trodelvy is a new treatment for triple negative locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer. It is one of the new immunotherapy drugs and has been shown to improve progression- free survival by an average of six months and overall survival by an average of 12 months. BCNA has worked closely with key stakeholders to have this drug listed. If you have questions about whether Trodelvy might be suitable for you, we suggest you talk to your medical oncologist. The federal election presented an opportunity for BCNA to advocate for continued improvements to Australia’s healthcare system. Prior to the election, we released our Election Manifesto, which included a call to action in six priority areas that aim to address the key challenges being faced by people with breast cancer today. BCNA looks forward to working with the Federal Government and new Health Minister on the policy and advocacy priorities outlined in the manifesto . We are so excited to be back on the road for the first time since 2019 with our Information Forums. The Ballarat Information Forum in May included presentations from a range of speakers on living well with early breast cancer, and we also hosted a breakfast to bring together people living with
metastatic breast cancer. We were lucky to be joined by medical oncologist Dr Belinda Yeo and clinical psychologist Dr Charlotte Tottman, who both presented at the events. We will be in Launceston on Wednesday 22 June and Port Lincoln (SA) on Friday 29 July. If you live in one of those areas, keep an eye on your emails or our website for your invitation. Our website will list other upcoming forums as we lock them in. With thanks to Sussan, one of our major partners, we have recently released three new podcasts. The episodes feature two members from our network in conversation about their stories, the challenges they face, how they found support and advice they have for those going through a similar situation. The topics cover young women, metastatic breast cancer, and living in a regional and rural location. Visit our website for more information and to listen. This month marks Workplace Giving Month. The campaign this year focuses on tackling difficult conversations. BCNA has released a resource that helps employers to support an employee with breast cancer. We have also established a Financial Impacts Working Group to address financial issues and hardship that many people face. Our news article Let’s work together to create change details our work to reduce the financial burden of a breast cancer diagnosis and our workplace giving program. Thank you for continuing to support BCNA. We hope you too are celebrating the wins, big and small, in your life.
Kirsten Pilatti Chief Executive Officer
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bcna.org.au
Issue 91 | June 2022
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