PHOTO/FILMING/INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY
Date: Wednesday 26 June 2024
Time: 10.30 - 11.30am
Venue: National Press Club
This Wednesday 26 June, Professor David Thomas, Chief Science and Strategy Officer, at not-for-profit Genomics Organisation, Omico, will make an urgent plea through a National Press Club address for Australia to utilise the new transformative genomic technologies now in our hands to extend and save the lives of those fighting the toughest cancers.
With one Australian dying from cancer every ten minutes and up to a third of these from rare cancers,1 he will call for a bolder approach to harnessing rapid advances in cancer innovation known as ‘precision oncology’.
For Australians with the challenging diagnosis of rare, advanced or incurable cancers he wants the words ‘it’s time to get your affairs in order and prepare your family’ to be replaced with an immediate directive to receive genomics tools now available – genomic profiling of the cancer and matching to precision medicines.
“Cancer is the modern plague, with 51,000 Australians dying every year.2 It is a genetic disease caused by mutations in the DNA. Genomic technologies can ‘read’ DNA and map these unique cancer mutations enabling matching to precision medicines which are incredibly powerful and only target the mutations in the cancer. The results are extraordinary. The science is unquestionable – precision oncology can extend and save lives,” states Prof Thomas.
Available for interview:
Prof David Thomas - Chief Science and Strategy Officer, Omico,
Reference:
- Rare Cancers Australia. Why Rare Cancer Patients Need Support. Available: https://www.rarecancers.org.au/page/158/why-rare-cancer-patients-need-our-support#:~:text=Approximately%2052%2C000%20Australians%20are%20diagnosed,half%20of%20all%20cancer%20deaths. Accessed: June 2024
Contact details:
Anne-Marie Sparrow: 0417 421 560