Media Statement
Today’s announcement of a National Targeted Lung Cancer Screening Program is a momentous step forward for all Australians.
Each year approximately 14,500 people living in Australia are diagnosed with lung cancer, for the majority their cancer will be caught too late and they will die prematurely with a five-year survival rate of just 20%.1 Lung cancer remains our nation’s biggest cancer killer.
The announcement today gives much more than hope, it gives a second chance at life. A National Targeted Lung Cancer Screening Program will save the lives of 12,000 Australians over the next ten years by diagnosing over 70% of cases at an earlier stage.2,3
Lung Foundation Australia commends the Albanese Government and Minister Butler for fiercely supporting the lung cancer community and investing in screening today. It’s not only a success for the lung cancer community but for Australia as a whole. A National Targeted Lung Cancer Screening Program is the first major cancer screening to be implemented in Australia in decades and will undoubtedly follow the success of breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening.
A national program is vital for all Australians impacted, but especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, who are 70% more likely to die from lung cancer than non-Indigenous Australians.4
“Lung Foundation Australia are absolutely thrilled with the Minister’s announcement. For more than five years we have advocated for a program that would help address the inequity outcomes for Australia’s biggest cancer killer – lung cancer – and today we can finally say we have achieved that goal” – Mark Brooke, CEO Lung Foundation Australia.
Lastly, we want to acknowledge our industry partners and our community members. Without your passion, tenacity and pure determination we would not be standing where we are today. Future Australians are indebted to your advocacy and we look forward to a future where less Australians lose their life to lung cancer.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Fiona Sinclair | fiona.sinclair@ogilvy.com.au | M: 0433 983 017
Anna Jeffries | annaj@lungfoundation.com.au | M: 0408 191 192