Labor will launch a $15 million scheme to improve care for people with cancer in regional Australia.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, campaigning in Brisbane, is set to announce on Wednesday a network of 34 Cancer Care Nurse Coordinators so people diagnosed with cancer get access to the specialist health services they need.
Mr Rudd says the new coordinators will help more than 7,000 rural and regional cancer patients and their families over the next four years.
"Cancer Care Nurse Coordinators will provide vital information about the illness and its treatment, and help patients navigate the health system, connecting them with health services and with community support and resources," he says.
Mr Rudd said the government believed all Australians with cancer deserved the best possible care, regardless of where they lived or how much they earned.
He said this initiative built on a plan announced earlier this week for improvements to cancer care at hospitals and health services Sydney's west, south east Queensland and southwest Western Australia.
Most of the Cancer Care Nurse Coordinators will be at the 26 Commonwealth funded Regional Cancer Centre projects across the country.
