Friday update 12 February 2021

Member

5 years ago

Hello everyone,

Welcome to today’s Friday update. We hope you are travelling well and enjoying some of the warmer weather that we have been having lately. Hopefully you are not heading into lockdown, as is happening in Victoria tonight!

For all of our new members who have joined over the last few weeks, don’t forget to have a look around the online network and check out the Categories tab in the left hand side of the top navigation bar.

We have a category called Day to Day which you may like to view. It has past discussions regarding inspiration, motivation, movies, gardening, hobbies, furry friends and is the place to talk about life in general.

It includes the sub categories called Creative Corner & Night Howls.

Creative Corner

Ø Creative COVID projects

Ø Quilters

Ø Favourite childhood toys and memories

Ø Writing to express yourself

Ø Sewing…does anyone sew?

Night Howls – Having trouble sleeping? Connect with others going through similar.

Ø Improving night-time sleep problems for people with cancer

Community highlights

1. I think I’m reading too much ☹ by @looeeze

2. A tiny inflatable boat in a huge storm by @Riotatmidnight (great username!)

@RiotAtMidnight & @looeeze, so glad you have found our supportive online community, wishing you both all the best with your treatment.

3. Marilyn’s not in my destiny by @sister, great photo, looks like it was heaps of fun!

Community news

Announcement SPARK Plus access program

Fulvestrant to be reimbursed through Novartis SPARK Plus program

Novartis has made changes to its SPARK Plus Access Program for its CDK inhibitor Kisqali (ribociclib). People enrolled on this program will now be reimbursed for the cost incurred of any fulvestrant bought on or after 1 January 2021.

Since May last year, Australians with hormone receptor positive, HER2-negative locally advanced (inoperable) or metastatic breast cancer have been able to access Kisqali free of charge through the SPARK Plus access program for first- or second-line treatment if they meet the following criteria:

First line treatment – must not have been treated with a hormone blocking therapy for advanced or metastatic breast cancer;
Second line treatment – where the cancer has progressed following treatment with hormone blocking therapy for locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer and you have not been treated previously with a CDK inhibitor for metastatic disease.

The SPARK Plus program has now been extended so that anyone enrolled on the program will be reimbursed by Novartis for the full cost incurred of fulvestrant bought on or after 1 January 2021.

If you are eligible for the access program, your breast cancer clinician will be able to enrol you to give you free access to Kisqali and a full reimbursement of your costs incurred for fulvestrant.

If you are already on the program, you will be able to be reimbursed for any fulvestrant bought this year.

New SPARK Plus enrolments - If you are not already enrolled in the SPARK Plus program, your clinician will need to complete the enrolment information. Please note that eligibility criteria apply.

Information for people with cancer about

COVID-19

As restrictions are starting to ease in some states, Cancer Australia encourages immunocompromised

cancer patients to continue practicing the following

February is ovarian cancer awareness month.

Know your body and be ovarian cancer aware

iPrevent is a breast cancer risk assessment and risk management decision support tool designed to facilitate prevention and screening discussions between women and their doctors. Click here for more information and to access the tool.

Pink Sports Days are back for 2021!

After a year of cancelled community sport, BCNA is thrilled to announce that 2021 registrations to host a Pink Sports Day are now open via the new PLAY4BCNA Pink Sports Day platform. We are all excited to hear the sounds of the referee’s whistle, cheering from the sidelines and the puffing from participants again! This new site enables online registration, merchandise purchasing, Pink Sports Day news and event fundraising pages.

Hosting a PLAY4BCNA Pink Sports Day is a wonderful opportunity to bring your community back together whilst raising vital funds to help BCNA support, inform, connect, and represent all Australians affected by breast cancer. We can’t wait to see all of the wonderful pink support back out on the fields, courts and pitches across the country.

To find out more visit out site