Our team recently celebrated a significant milestone – 50 patients supported through our Yescarta program!
That is, 50 patients from regional or rural Australia who are living with lymphoma have been supported to receive CAR T-cell therapya type of immunotherapy where a patients T-cells (a type of white blood cell in the immune system) are re-engineered to target cancer cells; also known as chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy since the program’s inception in September 2021. The assistance our team provides not only means that eligible patients can access this innovation in medicine, but their travel and accommodation costs are organised and covered thanks to Rare Cancers Australia’s (RCA) partnership with Gilead.
“For rare cancer patients, it is challenging enough to find treatment options and when they do, the out-of-pocket expenses can be life shattering. Patients should not have to choose between their health and livelihood,” Beth Doggett, Specialist Cancer Navigator at RCA said.
“We’re really proud to have reached this milestone and to continue to deliver the Yescarta program with Gilead. It goes to the very essence of what RCA stands for – holistic care which considers and prioritises what is important to those living with cancer.”
CAR T-cell therapy is a form of immunotherapya treatment that uses a person's immune system to fight cancer that uses specially altered T cells — a part of the immune system — to fight cancer. A sample of a patient’s T cells is collected from the blood, then they are modified to produce special structures called Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs). When these CAR T cells are reinfused into the patient, the new receptors enable them to latch onto a specific antigen on the patient’s tumour cells with the purpose of destroying them.
When you are being treated with CAR T-cell therapy, you and a caregiver must remain at or near your treatment centre for at least four weeks after infusion so that your condition can be monitored. This can be very difficult and extremely costly for people living in regional or rural communities.
Through the Yescarta program, RCA manages referrals and provides financial support through Gilead for select out-of-pocket expenses incurred by eligible Australians, including accommodation and travel.
As part of this process, RCA helps patients to navigate the various government travel assistance schemes and hospital programs which differ from state-to-state and centre-to-centre.
Our Patient Support Team also counsel patients and families, providing assistance in a variety of other ways including clinical, peer and psycho-social support, as needed.
What is the Yescarta program?
Yescarta is a form of CAR T-cell therapy indicated for the treatment of relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, high grade B-cell lymphoma and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma.
Patients should speak to their clinician about whether this is an appropriate treatment option for them.
Eligible patients can access this treatment through Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, and Westmead Hospital and RPA in Sydney.
If you have any questions about this treatment or travel assistance to access this program, you can contact our Patient Support Team on 1800 257 600 or email [email protected]