My Life Matters Campaign Launch
Brain Tumour Support NZ supporters participate in the My Life Matters campaign launch in downtown Auckland.
A hardy group of Brain Tumour Support NZ supporters, lead by brain tumour patient and Support Friend volunteer Pauline Wood, braved the chilly conditions and early morning start to participate in the My Life Matters campaign launch in downtown Auckland on Monday 28th August 2023. The early 6am start was timed to coincide with a live cross to the TVNZ Breakfast show and the event was subsequently covered by all the major television and radio networks, as well as the NZ Herald.
My Life Matters is a campaign for better access to modern medicines for all New Zealanders. It is the brainchild of patient advocate Malcolm Mulholland and Patient Voice Aotearoa. Brain Tumour Support NZ has signed on as a supporting organisation.
Pauline Wood and Malcolm Mulholland
“Funding is so important to make sure we all have a better quality of life, mostly after acute treatment,” Pauline told a Radio New Zealand reporter covering the event. There is a link to the full Radio New Zealand news article below.
“We would like to see a substantial increase in the CPB [Combined Pharmaceuticals Budget] so that New Zealanders can access more modern medicines,” says Chris Tse, Brain Tumour Support NZ chair. “One could question whether the Pharmac model was still fit for purpose, given the length of time it took to assess new medicines,” Tse added.
“The pace of development of new cancer treatments, such as immunotherapies, is extremely exciting but this excitement is dampened by the reality that Pharmac takes several years to evaluate these medicines before finally deciding to fund them. They often wait until the patent expires so they can buy a cheaper generic version,” Tse said.
BTSNZ supporters James, Maddy, Mitchell, Pauline and Hayley at the My Life Matters launch
In the case of brain cancer, Brain Tumour Support NZ has been campaigning for the funding of bevacizumab, a drug that was first approved in the US in 2009 and is funded by several countries around the world, including Australia.
“The lack of brain tumour treatments is an issue which our supporters feel very strongly about,” Tse said. “Strong enough to get them out of bed before the crack of dawn and down to the central city at 6am on a cold winter’s morning. We’re so grateful for our supporters’ energy and commitment to the cause,” he added.
Jill Powell, who lost her husband John to brain cancer earlier this year, shouted her kids and their partners breakfast for attending the event. “We are always happy to support Brain Tumour Support NZ for all the support that you all provided and will continue to offer any help we can give you into the future. John would have been most impressed that the kids committed to the early start,” Jill wrote.