WA cancer researchers look set to benefit from a new State Government funding partnership, with Cancer Council WA announced today as one of the recipients of the Cook Government's Future Health Research and Innovation fund, worth $2.52 million over the next three years.
Cancer Council WA CEO, Ashley Reid, said the news of the partnership creates a pivotal moment in cancer control research.
"We would like to thank the Cook Government for supporting cancer research in Western Australia," Mr Reid said.
This funding doubles the amount available to award to cancer researchers applying through our Cancer Research Project Grants.
"This will allow us to increase the amount available to researchers from $120,000 to $140,000 to help address the significant increases in research costs, and we can also increase the number of projects we fund from seven to 12 per year.
"Additionally, we can now offer funding to help address cancer research conducted in key priority areas, including for the first time, targeting Aboriginal health, with a focus on research designed and led by Aboriginal researchers.
"Together with the other priority areas - rural and remote health, clinical health, and public health - these streams create an important opportunity to direct resources towards identified areas of cancer research need, and expand the breadth of the projects and researchers we fund."
Mr Reid said an estimated 13,000 West Australians are diagnosed with cancer every year, but thanks to cancer research, nine in 10 people will survive beyond five years for the most common cancers including breast, melanoma and prostate cancer, and the overall five-year survival rate for all cancers is around 70 per cent.
He also added that thanks to research we also know that at least one third of cancers cancer be prevented.
"Our research program's robust, independent, peer-reviewed processes ensure that we direct funding to the most promising research conducted across a range of institutes and universities in WA," he said.
"Through this partnership we can fund more local cancer researchers to lead exciting and innovative research that has the potential to dramatically improve the way we prevent, detect and treat cancer."
