The Wire

Experts are warning that head and neck cancers are on the rise – And they say it’s due to heavy drinking and smoking among Australians. Each year 2500 Australians are diagnosed and of those 900 will die. Head and neck cancers are four times more likely to kill sufferers within 5 years, than breast and prostate cancers. Now health authorities are moving to curb the death rates by providing subsidized access to a new anti-cancer treatment on the Pharmaceutical benefits scheme, allowing patients to receive the treatment, which would otherwise be unaffordable.