Several thousand Australians with severe forms of leukaemia will now have access to a lifesaving treatment. The new drug has been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, dramatically cutting the cost.
Around 1500 Australians are diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia each year. It's a slow moving, but deadly disease. It starts in the blood-forming cells of bone marrow. As cancerous white blood cells build up, they spill into the bloodstream.
Head of the Haematology Department at Royal North Shore Hospital, Professor Stephen Mulligan explains how the new drug works - by targeting a protein feeding the cancer cells.
"There's a block to the survival and a block to the growth signal so the cells basically eventually die off and it keeps the leukaemia under very good control."
Indian Australian Cancer Specialist Dr Bhaumik Shah isn’t calling the drug a cure, but the government's announcement means patients will have access to much needed treatment without huge financial burden
