Jan Tinetti Labour MP

Every day in New Zealand around 66 people are diagnosed with cancer; a lot of us are affected by this disease. Locally we have amazing support services including the Breast Cancer Support Services. Helen and her team do a wonderful job offering practical advice and support. Last week it was great to be able to support the service by putting on a pink tutu and joining with friends at The Strand for the Hot Pink Walk. I also collected for Pink Ribbon Street Appeal at Tauranga Hospital on Saturday.

Labour is committed to better cancer care. Our health system has been under serious pressure after years of neglect and underinvestment. We are taking action. In September we announced a new comprehensive cancer plan which will see much needed changes. There will be a new national cancer control agency to ensure consistency of care across the country; more funding for Pharmac, so it can purchase more cancer medicines for more people; and funding for state-of-the-art radiation machines, so people living in our regions can get the treatment they need without having to travel long distances.

Pharmac has already announced it will be funding Kadcyla for metastatic breast cancer and Alecensa for lung cancer. Pharrmac is also currently consulting on three more cancer drugs for ovarian cancer, breast cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Until now people have had to fund these expensive drugs themselves.

Improving cancer survival rates is a long-term challenge. Cancer is our greatest killer, with about 10,000 deaths each year. That won't be solved overnight but this plan will deliver earlier detection, and better treatment. It will save lives.