CANBERRA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- A government report published on Thursday estimated that over 20,000 Australians are living with terminal breast cancer, doubling a previous estimate.
The report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) estimated that 20,800 Australian women and 150 men were living with metastatic breast cancer in 2024.
Metastatic breast cancer, also known as advanced or stage four breast cancer, is cancer that has spread from the breast to other parts of the body. There is no cure for metastatic breast cancer and a diagnosis is considered terminal.
The AIHW report marked Australia's first official national estimate of metastatic breast cancer.
The Breast Cancer Network of Australia, an NGO focused on supporting patients, previously estimated that there were 10,553 people living with metastatic breast cancer in Australia in 2020 and that the figure would increase to around 12,840 people by 2025.
AIHW spokesperson Justin Harvey said that the new national estimate would help support better clinical care, service planning, research and policy development.
According to the AIHW, over 3,300 Australians die from breast cancer each year, almost all due to metastatic breast cancer. ■
