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Cancer patients in Midland are facing unnecessary hurdles when it comes to accessing radiation therapy. While patients in other parts of Perth can receive treatment without out-of-pocket costs, those in Midland and surrounding areas are often forced to travel long distances or pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to receive the care they need. The AMA (WA) is calling on both the State and Federal governments — and opposition parties in this election year — to commit to fixing this inequity.

The challenge for Midland cancer patients

Radiation therapy is a critical component of cancer treatment, often requiring daily radiation appointments for many weeks. Side effects such as fatigue, nausea, and pain can make travel especially difficult.

In WA we rely on a mix of public and private services to deliver care across the metropolitan area. The only fully public radiation therapy clinic is at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Nedlands, and is funded by the State government without any out-of-pocket costs to patients. There is no equivalent service that exists in Midland. Instead, for patients living in the eastern suburbs, the closest treatment centre is the private Icon Cancer Centre in Midland, where they must cover significant out-of-pocket costs or travel to Nedlands every day.

This situation creates a postcode lottery where Midland patients, already facing one of the toughest battles of their lives, must either endure long daily commutes or shoulder financial burdens just to access the same care others receive at no cost.

The solution is clear

The State Government could fix this issue by fully funding public patient access to private radiation therapy clinics instead of relying on partial funding from the Federal government by Medicare and partial funding from out-of-pocket costs. Alternatively, the Federal Government could grant a Section 19(2) exemption, allowing the State to top up

Medicare-funded treatment costs, which is otherwise prohibited under law, or index Medicare rebates for radiation therapy to cover the full cost of treatment.

AMA (WA) President Dr Michael Page says government inaction is forcing Midland cancer patients into impossible situations.

“We know of patients who have had to travel from past Midland to Nedlands every day for six weeks for this gruelling but essential life-saving treatment – not because the expertise and equipment aren’t available in Midland, but because government red-tape and cost-shifting between State and Federal governments prevents it happening,” Dr Page said.

“We would like to see commitments from both the governments and the oppositions, at both levels, to fixing this problem. In the meantime, these incredibly vulnerable patients, facing the worst situations they have faced in their lives – serious life-threatening cancers requiring intensive daily therapy that can go on for months – have to travel for hours every day even when the treatment is actually available in their own area.”

Respiratory physician Dr David Manners, who regularly treats lung cancer patients, says the financial and logistical barriers for Midland patients, especially at such a stressful time in their lives, are unacceptable.

“Patients who live in Midland, the Hills, or Ellenbrook have a choice: either they choose to have their treatment locally here in Midland and may experience a gap of several hundred dollars, or they have to travel to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, with the added inconvenience,” Dr Manners said. “It’s not fair that patients in our area here in Midland, the Hills and Ellenbrook have to face that choice.”

Picture: Respiratory physician Dr David Manners, AMA (WA) President Dr Michael Page and Libby Collett, who received breast cancer radiation treatment at Icon Cancer Centre in Midland.