Aussie Cancer Groups Ask for Better Travel Assistance
Cancer patients living in rural areas around the world often experience significant challenges when trying to obtain treatment for their disease. Two Australian groups are now working together to try to make things a little easier for patients in their country.
The Clinical Oncological Society of Australia and Cancer Council Australia are calling on government officials to improve travel assistance programs for cancer patients living outside of major metropolitan areas.
The two groups are encouraging the Australian government to adopt recommendations proposed in a Senate report entitled Highway to health: better access for rural, regional, and remote patients. The recommendations include increased subsidy rates that are more in line with current costs of living.
The advocacy groups decided this was the optimal time to address the issue since Australia’s elections are approaching and health agreements between national, state and territorial governments are coming up for renewal next year.
Experts estimate almost one-third of Australia’s cancer patients live outside of cities where multidisciplinary cancer care is available. They also point out cancer patients in remote regions were more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis due to late detection and poor access to care. According to COSA’s President,
“Without adequate travel and accommodation assistance, these people face unacceptable barriers to appropriate service.”
Professor David Goldstein
President, COSA
Source: The Cancer Council Australia News
Related Links: Association of Clinicians for the Underserved; UICC World Cancer Congress 2006; International Atomic Energy Agency; Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation; Montana State University College of Nursing; Memorial University of Newfoundland; eMedical Journal Australia
Related Podcast – Early Detection: The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program from the Rural Health Education Foundation (Australia)
Print This
|
|
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Browse All Categories: Next article: Georgia Tech Tests New Nanolithography Technique
Previous article: Doctors Book Botox Visits Before Cancer Screenings
