About Cut the Cost of Cancer
No Australian should miss cancer care because they can’t afford it.
A cancer diagnosis can change life in an instant. But alongside the physical and emotional impact, there is another burden many people never expect: the cost of getting through treatment – and beyond.
Medication. Appointments. Travelling to treatment. If necessary, paying for accommodation close to it. Hospital parking. Time away from work. These costs can build quickly, often at the same time a household’s income is falling. Perhaps more so due to a partner or family member reducing their work hours to help provide care.
For people with blood cancer, where treatment can be urgent, intensive, and long, the financial impact can be particularly extreme. Leukaemia Foundation research found average annual out-of-pocket costs of $3910, with some families reporting costs of more than $20,000 a year.
Most concerning of all, 1 in 8 people with blood cancer surveyed said financial pressures had caused them to miss, delay or cancel treatment or care.
That should never happen.
Cut the cost of cancer is aLeukaemia Foundation campaign calling for practical action, to help reduce the financial burden of navigating cancer care.
Explore Cut the Cost of Cancer and take action in your state or territory
Why did the Leukaemia Foundation create Cut the Cost of Cancer?
For the Leukaemia Foundation, the financial impact of cancer is not an abstract issue.
Every day, we support people navigating blood cancer and see how quickly a diagnosis can affect not only someone’s health, but their work, income, family life and financial security.
This is especially true for people with complex diagnoses and those living in regional, rural and remote Australia, where accessing specialist treatment may mean travelling hundreds of kilometres or temporarily relocating away from home. The Leukaemia Foundation had seen this burden through its previous research and services, but more recent evidence suggested the situation was becoming even more serious.
So we set out to better understand it.
We wanted to know what people were paying, where those costs were coming from, how financial pressure was affecting their health and treatment, and what happened to their finances after treatment ended.
Then we wanted to do something with that evidence.
Cut the Cost of Cancer brings together research, lived experience and public advocacy to make the hidden financial impact of cancer visible and call for practical change from governments.
What did people with blood cancer tell us?
The Leukaemia Foundation conducted a national online survey of 655 Australians living with blood cancer.
People from metropolitan, regional and rural Australia shared information about their out-of-pocket costs, financial hardship, the effect of money worries on their health and recovery, and the longer-term financial impact of their diagnosis.
What we heard was confronting.
$3,910
The average annual out-of-pocket cost reported by people with blood cancer.
1 in 8
Missed, delayed or cancelled treatment or care because of financial pressures.
44%
Said financial worries had negatively affected their health or recovery.
Almost 1 in 2
Continued to experience financial stress.
These figures tell us the scale of the problem. But the experiences behind them show what the cost of cancer really means.
People told us about using their savings and superannuation, losing income, struggling to afford everyday essentials and relying on family for financial help. For some, financial stress continued well beyond treatment.
Cancer doesn’t only cost lives. It can cost livelihoods too.
Read more about the research behind the cost of cancer crisis
The people behind the numbers
There is no single experience of cancer or its financial impact.
For one person, the biggest cost might be medication. For another, it is losing their income. For a regional family, it might mean relocating hundreds of kilometres for months at a time.
These stories show what those pressures can look like.
Jenny: 457 kilometres between home and treatment
Jenny Nixon lives in Wagga Wagga in regional New South Wales and has faced two blood cancers and two stem cell transplants.
When she needed her second transplant, the treatment was not available in her hometown. Jenny had to travel 457 kilometres to Sydney and spent months away from home preparing for and recovering from treatment.
Even after returning home, the costs continued.
Trips to Sydney, specialist appointments and medications all added up. As a self-employed single woman, Jenny also had no sick leave to fall back on when treatment and cancer-related fatigue prevented her from working. The Leukaemia Foundation was able to provide information and practical financial assistance, including fuel and grocery vouchers.
Jenny’s experience shows why where someone lives can have such a significant impact on the cost of accessing cancer care.
Sam and Sally: when income disappears
Sam and Sally were enjoying their first year as parents when Sam was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Suddenly, their lives revolved around treatment, hospital visits and caring for their young son.
Shortly after Oscar was born, Sam had taken out income protection insurance. When cancer arrived, that decision meant he could stop working during treatment and focus on his health, while Sally was able to reduce her working hours to support the family.
Without it, Sam says their family would have been in a very different financial position.
Their experience demonstrates an important part of the cost of cancer: it is not only about what someone has to spend. It is also about what happens when income disappears at the same time expenses increase.
Bobby: when treatment means leaving home
Bobby was just three years old when his family received the news that he had cancer.
Living in Warrnambool in regional Victoria, accessing urgent treatment meant getting to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital. Bobby and his mum Trudy travelled there using three ambulances, including an air ambulance, on the same day he was diagnosed.
An initial eight-week stay in Melbourne became three years of travelling between Warrnambool and Melbourne for treatment.
It meant travel, time away from home and long periods where Bobby and Trudy were in Melbourne while his dad and sister remained in Warrnambool. Their family was suddenly divided between two cities at the time they most wanted to be together.
Bobby’s story shows why access to cancer care is about more than distance on a map.
Cancer can reshape an entire life
The financial impact of cancer is often intertwined with everything else a diagnosis changes.
A career can stop. A family might need to relocate. Plans for the future can be put on hold. People who thought they were financially secure can suddenly find themselves dependent on savings, insurance, family or support services.
Across Australia, people affected by blood cancer have shared their experiences to help make those impacts visible.
Siah Kaluat: a family relocating for treatment
Siah was 12 when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
She was transferred from the Sunshine Coast to the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane for urgent treatment. Over the months that followed, her family had to build their lives around being away from home.
The Leukaemia Foundation provided Siah’s family with accommodation at its ESA Blood Cancer Centre, giving Siah, her parents and her younger brothers somewhere they could stay together between hospital visits.
Her experience shows how practical support can relieve some of the pressure when cancer treatment requires an entire family to leave home.
Read Siah’s story in Teen Breathe
Taryn Elder: rebuilding work and life after leukaemia
At 39, Taryn Elder was living in Queensland and working in what she described as her dream job when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
Treatment meant weeks in hospital and a life that changed almost overnight. Taryn has since spoken about having to leave her job, the uncertainty cancer created around fertility and her future, and beginning to rebuild her working life through freelance work. She also reflected on the financial protection she wished she had arranged before her diagnosis.
Her story is another reminder that the financial cost of cancer is not limited to hospital bills. It can affect careers, future income and plans someone expected to have decades to build.
Read Taryn’s story in Marie Claire
Govind Sandhu: when cancer arrives without warning
Govind Sandhu was training hard, competing in ultramarathons and thriving professionally when his life changed dramatically.
At 38, shortly after completing the Sydney Half Marathon, he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Govind has since shared his experience publicly to raise awareness and encourage others affected by blood cancer to seek and accept support.
His story is a powerful reminder that cancer can interrupt even the most carefully built life without warning.
Why “Cut the Cost of Cancer” and not “Cut the Cost of Blood Cancer”?
The research behind this campaign comes from people living with blood cancer, and the Leukaemia Foundation has a particular reason to act.
Blood cancers can require urgent, intensive and highly specialised treatment. Some people need lengthy hospital stays, repeated treatment or care that is only available in major centres.
But the changes we are asking governments to make would benefit people affected by all cancers.
Better travel and accommodation support. More affordable hospital parking. Better access to regional services. Support when someone must travel interstate for treatment.
These are not blood cancer issues alone.
That is why Cut the Cost of Cancer invites everyone affected by cancer, along with families, carers, friends and supporters, to add their voice.
What needs to change?
The specific challenges are different in every state and territory, so the campaign’s asks vary depending on where people live.
But broadly, the Leukaemia Foundation is calling for practical changes in three areas.
Fairer travel and accommodation support
Patient travel subsidy schemes should better reflect the real cost of travelling away from home for care, including accommodation and private vehicle costs.
More cancer care closer to home
Where it is safe and appropriate, investment in regional cancer services, outreach and coordinated care can reduce how often people need to travel long distances simply to access treatment.
More affordable hospital parking
People receiving ongoing cancer treatment, and the carers supporting them, should have access to affordable concessional hospital parking.
The goal is simple: people should be able to access and stay on cancer treatment regardless of their postcode or financial circumstances.
Because the changes needed are different around Australia, the campaign site explains what we are asking governments to do in each state and territory.
Why advocacy matters
The Leukaemia Foundation already helps thousands of Australians navigate the practical impact of blood cancer.
We provide free or subsidised accommodation for people who need to relocate for treatment, transport support to help people attend medical appointments and financial assistance for people struggling with everyday expenses.
In FY26, our transport service supported more than 2,000 people to get to medical appointments and we provided 1,100 financial assistance grants. Demand for our financial support increased by 27% over the previous 12 months.
That support matters.
But helping someone manage a cost after it occurs is only part of the solution.
Advocacy asks how we can change the systems creating those pressures in the first place.
That is why Cut the Cost of Cancer takes the experiences people have shared with us and turns them into evidence for change.
We have gathered new research. We are sharing lived experience. We are building public support through petitions. And we are taking those findings and voices to governments to advocate for practical improvements.
Awareness is important. Change is the goal.
Add your voice
No Australian should have to choose between getting the cancer treatment they need and paying for everyday essentials.
Where you live and how much money you have should not determine your ability to access cancer care.
Together, we can call on governments to do better.
[Find your state or territory and sign the petition]
Need support with blood cancer?
If you or someone you love is affected by blood cancer, you do not have to navigate it alone.
The Leukaemia Foundation can provide information and practical, emotional and financial support, including help with accommodation, transport and navigating the financial challenges associated with blood cancer.
Call our Blood Cancer Support Coordinators on 1800 620 420.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Cut the Cost of Cancer campaign?
Cut the Cost of Cancer is a Leukaemia Foundation advocacy campaign calling for action to reduce the financial burden of accessing cancer treatment and care in Australia.
The campaign combines research from people living with blood cancer, lived experience stories and state and territory petitions calling for practical government action.
Why did the Leukaemia Foundation launch the campaign?
The Leukaemia Foundation regularly sees the financial pressure a blood cancer diagnosis can place on individuals and families.
New research showed the impact was serious enough that financial pressure was affecting treatment itself, with 1 in 8 people surveyed reporting that they had missed, delayed or cancelled treatment or care because of financial pressures.
The campaign was created to make that hidden burden visible and advocate for changes that can reduce it.
How much does cancer treatment cost?
There is no single figure that applies to everyone with cancer.
In the Leukaemia Foundation’s survey of people with blood cancer, respondents reported average annual out-of-pocket costs of $3,910, while some families reported spending more than $20,000 a year.
The impact can also include lost income when patients or carers need to reduce or stop work.
Doesn't Australia's public health system cover cancer treatment?
Australia’s health system covers many aspects of cancer treatment, but people can still face significant costs.
These can include medication, specialist appointments, travel, accommodation, parking, rehabilitation and everyday living expenses.
At the same time, cancer can reduce someone's ability to work, while partners and family members may also need to take time away from employment to provide care.
Are people really missing cancer treatment because of money?
Yes.
In the Leukaemia Foundation's research, 1 in 8 respondents with blood cancer reported missing, delaying or cancelling treatment or care because of financial pressures.
That is one of the key reasons this campaign exists.
Why can cancer cost more if you live in regional or rural Australia?
Specialist cancer treatment is often concentrated in larger centres.
For people outside metropolitan areas, treatment can therefore mean long-distance travel, accommodation away from home, fuel, flights, parking and time away from work.
For some families, it can mean temporarily relocating entirely.
Jenny's 457-kilometre journey from Wagga Wagga to Sydney, Bobby's years of travelling between Warrnambool and Melbourne, and Siah's family's relocation from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane show what that can look like in practice.
Is Cut the Cost of Cancer only about blood cancer?
No.
The research that prompted the campaign focuses on people with blood cancer, but many of the solutions the Leukaemia Foundation is calling for would benefit Australians affected by any cancer.
That is why the campaign is called Cut the Cost of Cancer and why the petitions are open to everyone.
What is the Leukaemia Foundation asking governments to do?
The exact asks differ by state and territory, but broadly include better travel and accommodation support, more cancer services closer to home and more affordable hospital parking.
You can find the specific priorities for your state or territory on the Cut the Cost of Cancer website.
How can I support the campaign?
The most important thing you can do is sign the petition for your state or territory.
Every signature helps demonstrate to governments that Australians want practical action to reduce the financial burden of cancer care.