A dedicated patient advocate is the first New Zealand-based Oncologist to be appointed to Union for International Cancer Control - a global organisation fighting for better Cancer Control.
A dedicated patient advocate is the first New Zealand-based Oncologist to be appointed to Union for International Cancer Control - a global organisation fighting for better Cancer Control.
Professor of Medical Oncology, University of Otago, Christopher Jackson was voted on as one of 14 board directors at a general assembly meeting on October 8.
No stranger to cancer advocacy in New Zealand, Professor Jackson says there should be better cancer care, it should be fairer, it should be equitable and all progress on cancer control should reach everyone worldwide.
Professor Jackson says the time feels right now for New Zealand to connect on a global scale.
“While we’ve been very focused on what is happening domestically, we need to forge new and stronger links with other countries in terms of our Cancer Control agenda.”
The UICC was founded in 1933 and is based in Geneva and works across cancer prevention, early detection and diagnosis, treatment and palliative care.
As a new, director Professor Jackson Christopher wants to think about how to bring the Pacific into the organisation’s framework and what role New Zealand might have in that.
There are many opportunities to be gained by connecting to the UICC, and vice versa.
“I think we can teach the world some stuff too. The National Child Cancer Network shows our outcome for childhood cancers are pretty much better than anywhere else in the world for comparable countries. It’s a gold standard in terms of its structure and that comes national networks, access to clinical trials, patient support and standardisation of protocols.”
“We are making some gains in other tumour areas as well but there’s still a long way to go.”
He says New Zealand can do better when it comes to Cancer Control.
“We have to be aspirational for that and I think we have to stop saying we’re a poor country and we can’t afford this. I think that’s nonsense.
“I see people affected by cancer who suffer from gaps in the system every day, and that’s what gets me out of bed to try and fix it.
“I learned a long time ago you cannot help the person in the clinic now without thinking about all the upstream determinants for how they got there in the first place, which is the systems-based stuff e.g. access to diagnostics, primary care, screening and timely movement through the health pathway.”
Meaningful change for Professor Jackson would be that not only do survival rates increase, and the number of cancers decrease but people have a better experience navigating the health system.
His over-arching vision is better cancer care for all New Zealanders no matter who they are or where they live.
“You have to be very thoughtful, deliberate, and strategic about how you achieve change in New Zealand’s health system. Getting stuff done is hard but it can occur. We now have a Cancer Agency that was achieved through lobbying, and we have $795 million worth of cancer drugs being funded.”
But more balanced investment is also required on infrastructure and pathways – the so called “engine room” to ensure patients receive timely care.
To help him and his many colleagues who want better Cancer Control he says Kiwis can help by spreading the world and keep telling health leaders, MPs, and the Government that “changes in the health system really matters to us, and that we can and must do better.”
2024-2026 Board of Directors and President-elect profiles | UICC
