Breast cancer sufferer Brandi Allsop needs costly treatment for a chance to stay alive

A young Hervey Bay mother fighting to access costly treatment for her stage three breast cancer has shared the gut wrenching conversation she finally had to have with her two sons, and why. Read her story, and sign the change.org petition to help her:

Brandi Allsop has been fighting triple-negative breast cancer for more than three years. She is pictured with her husband Shane and their two sons Cody and Jack.

Hervey Bay mother of two Brandi Allsop is just 39, but she has been in the fight of her life for more than three years against triple-negative breast cancer.

With the return of the cancer in 2024, Brandi needs Lynparza (Olaparib), a drug that targets BRCA gene mutations, to continue her battle, but the drug is incredibly expensive and not covered by the Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), meaning her family would need to find an extra $78,000 a year for her treatment.

Brandi is petitioning for the Australian government to list the drug on the PBS, making it accessible to those in need.

“My name is Brandi Allsop. I am 39 years old and live in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia, with my husband Shane, 40, and my two beautiful boys Cody, 6, and Jack, 5,” says Brandi in her change.org plea for people to sign the petition and bring about change.

“I was diagnosed on March 8, 2021, at the age of 36, with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

Brandi Allsop has been fighting triple-negative breast cancer for more than three years. She is pictured with her husband Shane and their two sons Cody and Jack.

“To date, I have had five chemotherapies, one immunotherapy, 30 days of radiation, and eight surgeries.

“When people say they would die for their children, I ask, imagine fighting to LIVE for them.

“That is what I have been faced with doing for nearly three and a half years. Fighting to stay alive to raise my boys and watch them grow up.

“After nearly one year of remission, post eight months of the systemic treatment Trodelvy in 2023, I learned from a PET scan that my cancer was back and in my sternum region.”

The following is Brandi’s personal account during the week of August 1, 2024:

“Last week was unbelievably hard.

“I had the phone meeting with my surgeon after the multidisciplinary team meeting at The Mater Hospital in Brisbane.

“From the beginning of the phone call, the tone was grim.

“Surgery was not an option, as it was decided that it would be too morbid for me.

Brandi Allsop has been fighting triple-negative breast cancer for more than three years. She is pictured with her husband Shane and their two sons Cody and Jack. To date, she has had five chemotherapies, one immunotherapy, 30 days of radiation, and eight surgeries.

“There were three areas where they could see cancer present on the CT and PET scan.

“The mass around my sternum is too close to my heart for high dose radiation.

“The lymph node in my chest was too deep and not at a stage to warrant the damage of radiation.

“Radiation was not off of the table, but for some reason, I wasn’t getting clear straight answers from her regarding this path.

“There was talk about seeing the value in having the pain controlled by the radiation.

“This palliative talk was painfully familiar to me from all of the friends that I’ve lost over the years and that I’ve watched fight this disease to the end.

“Systemic treatment was discussed.

“A PARP inhibitor I had suggested to my oncologist the week before called Lynparza, also called Olaparib. It suppresses cancer growth via the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutations in the cancer.

“In early 2023, I had molecular testing done on my cancer, which revealed it had mutated, and the BRCA 1 gene mutation was present.

Brandi Allsop has been fighting triple-negative breast cancer for more than three years. She is pictured with her husband Shane and their two sons Cody and Jack.

“I knew that in 2021, it cost over $100,000 per course of treatment to access this drug, and I was hoping that it was on the PBS (pharmaceutical benefits scheme) three years on.

“I learned through my medical team that it is not free and a year of this treatment comes at a cost of $78,000 until it becomes available on the pbs for metastatic breast cancer with somatic BRCA mutation.

“A meeting I had with my husband Shane and the director of radiation oncology was harrowing.

“She explained that the amount of radiation that my body could tolerate in that area would be about 20 gray (measuring units for radiation).

“It would be dispensed to me at four gray per day for five days.

“She explained that they hoped to shrink and stall it, but it would not be possible to eradicate it.

“That night, Shane and I sat our boys Cody and Jack down, and we had the big talk that I’ve avoided having with them for three and a half years now.

“‘Mommy is sick again. It’s a disease called cancer. Sometimes people get better and sometimes they don’t.‘ I assured them that Mommy is doing everything in her power to continue to fight and to get better for them.

“It’s a blur of emotion, to be honest.

“Cody collapsed in my arms, hugging me, begging me not to die. Jack was very sombre and quiet.

“I told Shane to prepare for Jack’s emotion later when he decided that he wanted to talk about it.

“A few hours later, just as I’d suspected, he came up to us. It was night-time.

“‘Mommy, are you still sick?’ Yes. ‘I don’t want you to leave me. Please don’t die.‘ He collapsed, hugging me and bawling. I said, ‘Do you know what made me better before when Mommy was sick?’ He shook his head, no, looking at my face carefully for an answer. ’You did, Jack. All of your love and all of the cuddles every night kept me strong and fighting.‘ He collapsed on me sobbing. He fell asleep in my arms that night as he cried himself to sleep.

“As a parent, it will go down as one of the worst days of my life.

“Please help me to continue my fight to watch my boys Cody and Jack grow up.

“I’ve completed the radiation and now I need to find a way to access Lynparza/Olaparib.

“Please sign and share this petition so that the Australian Government has Lynparza/Olaparib listed on the PBS for Australians with metastatic breast cancer somatic BRCA mutations to make it accessible for patients like myself, fighting to live for my family.

“I pray that you will never have to face what I have had to face and I pray for the world to find a cure to end all cancers.”

SIGN THE PETITION HERE