ADVANCED Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) is advocating for pharmacists to be better integrated into cancer care, especially for people living with rare cancers.
The call comes on Rare Cancers Awareness Day today and follows a recent submission by AdPha to Rare Cancers Australia's efforts to design a new Optimal Care Pathway.
The submission details three areas it says are in need of reform.
These include improved access to medicines and support programs, action to address pharmacy staff levels and consistent access to PBS-listed therapies for patients.
AdPha's Oncology and Haematology Leadership Committee Chairman, Shaun O'Connor, said pharmacists play a critical and overlooked role in providing care to those suffering from less common cancers.
"In hospitals, pharmacists are essential to navigating treatment safely, especially when no clinical guidelines exist," O'Connor said.
"They are also key to overcoming supply challenges and ensuring continuity of care for patients."
The AdPha Committee comprises a network of more than 900 pharmacists with expertise in ambulatory and primary care settings plus inpatient and outpatient services.
O'Connor's request was backed up by the Leukaemia Foundation, which zeroed in on acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), calling for urgent action on awareness and research to tackle what it says is one of the under-invested cancers in Australia.
Leukaemia Foundation CEO Chris Tanti said AML can be ruthless.
"We've seen incredible progress in the treatment and survival for some blood cancers, but comparatively AML has been left behind," Tanti said.
AML currently accounts for 6% of all blood cancer diagnoses but more than 20% of related deaths.
The organisation said AML is the second-most common cancer in children aged under 15 and in the top three for children in Australia.
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