International advocacy

BCNA at the UN General Assembly

Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) has been invited to represent the voices of Australians affected by breast cancer at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Our Director of Policy and Advocacy, Vicki Durston, will join global leaders to ensure breast cancer is explicitly recognised in the 2025 UN Political Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health.

This international platform matters because decisions made at the UN influence how governments, including Australia’s, set priorities for cancer care, research, and access to new treatments. By taking lived experience to the world stage, BCNA is working to secure stronger global commitments that translate into better outcomes for people and families affected by breast cancer here at home.

Count Us In: Global Advocacy for Metastatic Breast Cancer

BCNA has joined forces with Breast Cancer Now (UK) and Rethink Breast Cancer (Canada) to launch the Advancing Global Visibility for Metastatic Breast Cancer Advocacy Pledge. Announced at Australia House in London, the pledge calls on governments worldwide to ensure people living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are properly counted, recognised, and supported.

For too long, people with MBC have been hidden in plain sight — excluded from health data and overlooked in cancer planning. By demanding accurate data collection and visibility, this pledge represents a turning point. It builds on Australia’s leadership in cancer data innovation and decades of consumer-led advocacy, ensuring that those living with metastatic breast cancer are no longer invisible in health systems across the globe.

Read the pledge

Reducing inequalities in metastatic breast cancer care

In collaboration with an international group of experts at The Health Policy Partnership (HPP), BCNA has contributed to policy briefs and videos aimed at reducing inequalities in metastatic breast cancer care. These resources outline three key areas of action for policymakers:

1. addressing structural barriers,
2. ensuring access to appropriate care along the treatment pathway, and
3. improving patient empowerment.

Recommendations include integrating metastatic breast cancer into cancer policies, investing in research, addressing social barriers, and providing clear, tailored information to patients. This project reinforces BCNA’s role as a leader in advocating for equitable care and amplifying the voices of those living metastatic breast cancer.

Read the policy briefs:

• Reducing inequalities in metastatic breast cancer care: An overview.   
• Addressing structural and systemic barriers to care.
• Ensuring access to appropriate care along the pathway.
• Improving patient experience, involvement and empowerment. 

View the videos:

• How can we reduce inequalities in metastatic breast cancer care?  
• How can we address structural and systemic barriers to metastatic breast cancer care? 
• How can we ensure comprehensive access to appropriate metastatic breast cancer care?
• How can we improve metastatic breast cancer patient experience, involvement and empowerment?