Every Australian facing blood cancer should feel they’re not alone.
It’s a theme that drives the Leukaemia Foundation every day and a key focus of their partnership with Greater Charitable Foundation that is helping to reduce the financial burden and improve health outcomes for people living with blood cancer and their families.
Earlier this year, Greater Charitable Foundation committed $229,500 to support the ongoing delivery and expansion of the Leukaemia Foundation’s Financial Assistance program, designed to assist people living with blood cancer and their families throughout the Hunter Region, wider NSW and South-East Queensland.
The program provides patients and their families with monetary support such as covering, household bills, and fuel and grocery vouchers as well as providing advocacy to assist patients with financial hardship after diagnosis.
This investment from Greater Charitable Foundation will expand the Leukaemia Foundation’s Financial Assistance Program by both increasing the number of blood cancer patients financially supported by 50% and increasing referral pathways to financial counsellors, with the funding to be directed to support people living with blood cancer.
Leukaemia Foundation’s Head of Philanthropy, Jacqueline Williams, said more than 110,000 Australians are living with blood cancer at any given time and over 5,700 people lose their life to blood cancer each year.
“Blood cancer can develop in anyone, anywhere, at any age and at any stage of life, so we are focused on making sure every Australian with blood cancer gets access to the trusted information, best-practice treatment, and essential care they need,” Jacqueline said.
“Our partnership with Greater Charitable Foundation will cover the cost of providing our Financial Assistance Program over the next three years to people living with blood cancer throughout the regional NSW and South East Queensland.
“The cost of treatment can financially cripple blood cancer patients and their families, as a blood cancer diagnosis typically means one or more people within the household are unable to work full time. This reduction in income is only one contributing factor to the financial burden of blood cancer.
“After diagnosis, a patient is also faced with out-of-pocket expenses, ongoing treatment and rehabilitation costs and a very real possibility of not being able to return to full time work due to long-term treatment side effects. For those that live in rural and regional areas, it also often means temporarily relocating to the city to receive ongoing cancer treatment that can be anywhere from a few weeks to up to 12 months in duration.
“We also know that health outcomes are worse for people in financial stress during their blood cancer treatment, so alleviating some of those pressures can make a massive difference to their longer-term prognosis.
“The Leukaemia Foundation encourages all Australians living with blood cancer and their loved ones to connect with a blood cancer support professional. We support and advocate for all Australians with blood cancer (including leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood disorders), so more people can survive and thrive.”
Greater Charitable Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Anne Long, said the partnership with the Leukaemia Foundation will deliver many benefits.
“Research shows that blood cancer patients experiencing financial hardship have poorer survival outcomes at five years compared to other blood cancer survivors, so if we can help them avoid financial hardship, we hope to bring their survival outcomes in line with others with the same blood cancer,” Ms Long said.
“As well as assisting people with their immediate needs, the Leukaemia Foundation Financial Assistance program also aims to improve their financial literacy through connecting them with financial counsellors, which dovetails perfectly with our new funding strategy of improving the overall financial wellbeing of participants.
“We are delighted to be partnering with the Leukaemia Foundation and we are very excited to think that our support could help people in our communities live longer and healthier lives.”
If you or anyone you know is impacted by blood cancer, please contact Leukaemia Foundation’s dedicated blood cancer support line on 1800 620 420.
Click here for more information on the partnership or click here to find out more about the holistic range of services offered by the Leukaemia Foundation.