Huge change for 4000 Queenslanders living with incurable disease

In a Queensland first, the number of women living with a certain kind of breast cancer has been recorded, paving the way for improved treatment and access to care.

A total of 3863 women in Queensland are living with metastatic breast cancer.

In a Queensland first, the number of women living with metastatic breast cancer in the state has finally been recorded, in a major step towards improving treatment and access to care for the incurable disease.

It was announced on Wednesday that 3863 women were living with metastatic breast cancer in the state, a treatable but incurable disease that has advanced and spread to other areas of the body.

Of the women, 1120 were aged 60 to 69 (69 per cent), 1043 were aged 70 to 79 (27 per cent), and 579 were aged 80 or older (15 per cent).

But there were also a number of younger Queenslanders living with the disease, with 85 in the 40 and younger category (2 per cent).

The data, collated by the Queensland Oncology Repository, which was managed by Cancer Alliance Queensland, represented all those diagnosed with the invasive cancer between 1982 and 2024, who were alive at the end of 2024.

Accurately recording the number of women living with the disease enables medical professionals to push for targeted support, improve access to care, and invest in life-extending treatments and clinical trials.

Cancer Alliance Queensland senior director Danica Cossio said the state’s approach sets a new standard for how we recognise and support people living with metastatic breast cancer.

“This new data ensures that the needs of this community are finally recognised and addressed, paving the way for similar reforms in other cancers,” Ms Cossio said.

Breast Cancer Network Australia director of policy, advocacy and support services Vicki Durston said this was a “turning point” for Queensland women living with the invasive disease.

“For too long, governments have written off people with metastatic breast cancer because it’s not curable, forgetting that incurable doesn’t mean invisible. This data proves they are here, they count, and they matter,” Ms Durston said.   

“Without foundational data, where do we even start? Queensland’s commitment shows what’s

possible when we stop treating cancer data as a risk and start treating it as the powerful tool for change that it is.”

Minister for Women Fiona Simpson said Queensland was playing a nation-leading role in improving dignity and recognition for metastatic breast cancer patients.

“Queensland is only the second state in the country to implement this health data reporting change and already we can see that previous national projections significantly underestimated the true number of metastatic breast cancer patients,” she said.

Queensland joins New South Wales as the only states to accurately count women living with the metastatic disease, with the Breast Cancer Network Australia now urging other jurisdictions to do the same. 

Originally published as Huge change for 4000 Queenslanders living with incurable disease