An advocacy update from our founder Jane Ludemann
Over the past few years, we have worked hard to effect positive change for our ovarian cancer community, advocating for improvements in ovarian cancer care. I am pleased with the progress we are seeing and would like to share some of the steps being taken.
A summary of our National Ovarian Cancer Report
In September 2022, we presented New Zealand’s first National Ovarian Cancer Report to Parliament, outlining steps we believe the government should take to improve ovarian cancer care in New Zealand.
Our recommendations included reducing the time to diagnosis by educating women about ovarian cancer symptoms through the National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP), establishing national guidelines for primary care, and improving access to ultrasound scans.
We also recommended that the government significantly increase funding for Pharmac to improve access to funded medications for all New Zealanders, including those in our ovarian cancer community. In addition to recommendations to improve access to clinical trials and funding for research.
In July 2023, we addressed the Health Select Committee (HSC) and reiterated our recommendations for improving ovarian cancer care.
The HSC supported our recommendations for education on ovarian and uterine cancer symptoms to be included in the NCSP, urging Te Whatu Ora Health NZ to investigate this. They also encouraged Te Aho o Te Kahu (Cancer Control Agency) to work with other agencies to explore how they can measure the effectiveness of detection, diagnosis and treatments in ovarian cancer.
National Party’s Ovarian Cancer Election Policy
We were pleased to see the National Party release an election policy adopting recommendations from our submission to develop national guidelines for ovarian cancer diagnosis and management, explore the establishment of an ovarian cancer register, and enhance access to community ultrasound for prompt diagnosis.
We see an opportunity to cultivate relationships and collaborate to drive change for our community.
In May, we met with the Minister for Health, Hon. Dr Shane Reti, and representatives from Te Aho o Te Kahu and the NCSP to discuss measures to enhance New Zealand’s emergency diagnosis rates for ovarian cancer.
Progress on education about ovarian cancer symptoms
Following the HSC’s recommendations, the NCSP initially expressed reluctance to introduce new messaging on ovarian cancer symptoms education while transitioning to HPV screening. However, during our meeting, we gained a better understanding of the NCSP’s standpoint and identified steps needed to move forward, resulting in several action points for us to pursue.
Meanwhile, the Health Minister has instructed the NCSP to further investigate the option of informing women that cervical screening does not detect ovarian and other gynaecological cancers. While progress may not be as swift as we’d hoped, it is encouraging to see opportunities for further discussion.
Progress on National Party policies
During our meeting, we were encouraged to hear the Minister repeatedly affirm that ovarian cancer is one of his priority areas, particularly in improving diagnosis rates. He highlighted that one of his first actions as Minister for Health was meeting with Te Aho o Te Kahu to emphasise this commitment, marking an unprecedented focus on ovarian cancer. He also reiterated his support for the National Party’s ovarian cancer election policies.
Increased access to ultrasound scans
The week following our meeting, the Minister personally called me, to inform me about the announcement regarding increased radiology funding. This funding boost means that in the future, GPs will be able to refer women with ovarian cancer symptoms, meeting specific criteria, for private ultrasound tests at no cost if the public system cannot accommodate them within the recommended time frame. We’re proud to see one of our recommendations being put into action.
Progress on medication funding
In our submission, we highlighted medications funded in Australia and the UK that are currently not funded in New Zealand. One such treatment, Niraparib, received funding approval from Pharmac earlier this year. We supported Pharmac’s funding application and requested criteria expansion to include high-grade endometrioid ovarian cancer. Pharmac has indicated this will be discussed in their Cancer Treatment Advisory Committee meeting in July.
Increased funding for Pharmac
You may have seen the media reports criticising the lack of funding for the 13 cancer treatments outlined in National’s election policy in this year’s budget. While none of these drugs were for ovarian cancer, we, along with other cancer charities in CANGO, and Patient Voice Aotearoa, advocated for increased funding for Pharmac to ensure funding for treatments for these and other cancers. I am pleased the government has committed to increasing Pharmac’s funding by $604 million over the next four years, although we recognise substantial disparities compared to Australia still exist.
Encouragingly, Pharmac recently announced that the drugs under consideration for funding are likely to include a treatment for ovarian cancer. While we’re cautiously optimistic about this news, we await further details on the specific treatment. We will keep our community updated as we learn more.
Meeting with the Labour Party
Several weeks ago, we met with Hon. Dr Ayesha Verrall, Labour Party’s Health Spokesperson, to discuss numerous issues related to ovarian cancer in New Zealand. Dr Verrall received a copy of our submission during her tenure as Associate Health Minister, but this meeting provided our first opportunity to engage directly with her. It was a productive meeting, and we see potential to strengthen this relationship further.
While the progress we are achieving is remarkable, it is important to acknowledge that much work remains – not only in improving diagnosis but also in other aspects of ovarian cancer care and survival.
At times, progress may seem frustratingly slow, but it’s so important that we celebrate these achievements. As a small charity operating on a fraction of the budget of larger cancer charities, I can confidently say none of this would have been possible without the support of our community. I hope you take pride in the impact you are helping to achieve.
Our voices matter, and together, we’re improving ovarian cancer care in New Zealand.
