Justine Smyth, CNZM
Chair
Message from the Chair:
Celebrating 30 years
As we mark the 30th anniversary of Breast Cancer Foundation NZ this year, it’s a privilege to look back at what we’ve achieved with the support of compassionate Kiwis like you.
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Thirty years ago, breast cancer was a taboo subject. Survival rates were very poor and there were limited treatment options. As a teenager, I carried my own family’s secret of my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis. This was my motivation to shine a light on the disease when I joined the Board of Trustees in 1996, two years after the charity’s formation.
We’ve come such a long way since then. Breast cancer is more out in the open. With less stigma, we can talk more freely about it, and there is a community of support for patients and their families. We have free breast screening, and better treatments. The chance of surviving breast cancer if it’s diagnosed early is now 92%.
We are turning the tide against breast cancer and we could not have achieved the results we’ve had without the support of a great many people. We thank each and every one of you for playing a part in improving the lives and outcomes for breast cancer patients. In particular, we’d like to pay tribute to our dear friend, founding Trustee and Patron, Dame Rosie Horton, who passed away last May. Breast Cancer Foundation NZ wouldn’t be what it is today without Rosie’s support and her legacy will live on as we continue steadfastly towards our vision of zero deaths.
We’d also like to acknowledge the many Trustees that have served on our Board over the last 30 years and our Medical Advisory Committee members, who have all volunteered their time and expertise to help save women’s lives – thank you.
Ah-Leen Rayner
CEO
Message from the CEO:
Towards ‘Zero Deaths’
2023/24 has been an outstanding year of progress, thanks to our committed supporters. This year, you’ve helped to achieve some massive advocacy wins, fund critical research projects, and deliver patient support services and life-saving education programmes.
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You’ve enabled us to keep making record investments into our programmes. We’ve forged closer connections with decision makers and stakeholders and worked collaboratively with others to put the needs of breast cancer patients at the top of the agenda.
With a public health system under severe pressure and an ongoing gloomy economic outlook, big challenges lie ahead of us. But a new organisational strategy, along with new systems and technologies to support the delivery of our vision, put us in a strong position to make an even greater impact for Kiwis affected by breast cancer.
Looking ahead, through our four renewed programmes of work – early detection, innovation in screening, quicker diagnosis and optimal treatment – we will empower, provide support, research and innovate, and advocate for change. All to ensure breast cancer is caught earlier and treated better – so that no one has to die from it.
Whether you’ve hosted a Pink Ribbon Breakfast, taken part in a Pink Ribbon Walk, volunteered for the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal or NZ House & Garden Tours, held your own fundraiser, made a donation, partnered with us, or got involved in some other way – we’d like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your incredible generosity.
Please enjoy reading about the difference you’ve made this past year. Because all of our successes are yours to share.
30 years ago, a group of doctors decided it was time to talk about breast cancer
Medical oncologist Dr Vernon Harvey has been with the Foundation from the start – he shares his insights about what has changed since then, and what still needs to be done to stop deaths from breast cancer.
Video transcript
I’ve been a medical oncologist in Auckland for 40 years and retired about five years ago, though I still do some work with Breast Cancer Foundation NZ and other charities.
How has breast cancer changed in the past 30 years?
Well, I suppose the most important thing is that the outcome is better for the majority of patients. It’s changed in so many ways. We know so much more about breast cancer. There are different sorts of breast cancer, and they all need different treatment. Treatments have changed dramatically, surgery has got less extensive, radiation is becoming less extensive, the drugs available to try and get rid of the cancer have multiplied many times. So, I think all those things are important.
We know so much more about the about cancers and the genes that cause the cancers, and that allows us to develop new treatments to try and get rid of the cancer.
The fact that we now screen regularly, and pick up many more early breast cancers, that’s very important because the earlier you pick up the cancer the easier it is to treat and the more likely the outcome is to be successful.
Even in those instances where we are unable to save lives, we can extend them in many cases so that people live a more comfortable life for longer.
What still needs to happen in order to reach the vision of zero deaths from breast cancer?
We have improved a lot in early breast cancer, so if we detect it early enough, and that’s where mammography comes in particularly, then more people will survive, and fewer cancers will recur. That’s been hugely successful, that’s improved by somewhere between a third and 50% over the last 30 years or so.
The biggest problem is how we deal with advanced breast cancer, breast cancer that’s spread beyond the breast.
How can donors and fundraisers support Breast Cancer Foundation NZ’s vision of zero deaths?
Oh, they're absolutely vital. You can’t do anything that Breast Cancer Foundation NZ is doing without funding.
We have achieved a lot; in early breast cancer, many, many more patients now survive. We need more understanding, more treatment and more funding.
How your donations have made an impact this year
Pink Campervan tours resulted in:
6,708
people spoken to
114
women encouraged to see GP about concerning symptoms
140
women referred to BreastScreen Aotearoa for free mammograms
289,258
women signed up for a mammogram during our education campaigns
$1.9m
spent on research projects & Te Rēhita Mate Ūtaetae - Breast Cancer Foundation National Register
3,335
new people using our nurse specialist support services
9,306
calls to our Nurse Advice Line
2
big advocacy wins – breast screening age raise to 74 + Keytruda funded for triple negative breast cancer
What your support goes towards
The difference you’ve made in 2023/24
This year, more than 3,500 New Zealanders will have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Around 650 women die from the disease annually.
With your support, we have made remarkable progress in four key areas to make sure more Kiwis are diagnosed earlier and can access the right treatment at the right time.
Education to promote the importance of early detection
Detecting breast cancer early gives you the best chances for survival. This is the life-saving message your support enables us to spread through our education and health promotion work.
Taking the message to all corners
Thanks to supporters like you, our new Pink Campervan set off on its first tour in October 2023, making stops in the regions of Nelson, Marlborough, Buller, West Coast, Manawatū, Hawkes Bay, Lakes District and Waikato. Along the way, more than 6,700 people were given free breast health advice, encouraged to see their GP about concerning symptoms, and referred to BreastScreen Aotearoa’s free mammogram service. We converted BNZ’s gift of a former mobile banking bus into a second Pink Campervan, giving us the opportunity to visit hard to reach communities and speak with even more New Zealanders.
Connecting and upskilling
Our nurse educators had a strong focus on reaching rural communities as they held important breast health conversations with around 1,600 people at Fieldays. They also connected with nearly 600 health professionals at conferences and visited 43 GP practices to upskill the primary care workforce on breast health education.
Reaching millions
Having regular mammograms can save lives by detecting breast cancer early and one of the most impactful ways we can promote this message is through our nationwide education campaigns. Through two campaigns that ran on digital advertising, billboards and street posters around the country, millions of New Zealanders were given a reminder to book their mammograms.
Dayle’s story: An early diagnosis thanks to Breast Cancer Foundation NZ
Lauryn’s story: “Seeing the Pink Campervan was the push I needed to see a doctor”
Foodstuffs South Island’s story: “How Breast Cancer Foundation NZ helped us to champion breast cancer awareness in the workplace”
Research and medical projects to make advances in treatment
Your donations are helping to pioneer groundbreaking developments in the knowledge and treatment of breast cancer in Aotearoa.
Bringing experts together
In March 2024, our Breast Cancer InSIGhts conference in Wellington brought together more than 100 breast cancer specialists and nurses to share knowledge and the latest research on all aspects of diagnosis and treatment. International speakers and experts attended, including Dr Debra Ikeda, a professor of radiology at California’s Stanford University. She helped us to advocate in the media for NZ women to be informed about their breast density through the national breast screening programme.
The power of data
Te Rēhita Mate Ūtaetae - Breast Cancer Foundation National Register is a rich database of health information from more than 45,000 people who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer in NZ since 2000. By collecting comprehensive data on all aspects of breast cancer diagnoses, treatment and outcomes, Te Rēhita provides doctors and scientists the information needed to carry out research and improvements to treatment and care. Te Rēhita has been instrumental in the development of Te Aho o Te Kahu – The Cancer Control Agency’s breast cancer quality performance indicator (QPI) project, which will track the performance of the health system against 10 aspects of breast cancer treatment. By providing the data and analysis for the development of the indicators, we’re helping to drive improvements to breast cancer care.
Modernising surgery
You’re playing a part in bringing a new surgical technique to NZ which gives doctors a more precise way to locate tumours, making the surgical process much easier for patients having breast conserving surgery. This new smart seed localisation technology will replace the outdated hookwire procedure and we’re using our Register to collect pilot data that will provide the evidence hospitals need to invest in this new method.
Northland surgeon Dr Maxine Ronald on being awarded the Māori Breast Cancer Research Leadership Fellowship
Jaydene’s story: “The Young Women’s study offers hope to women like me”
Robin’s story: “Te Rēhita is helping to change the story of breast cancer in Aotearoa”
Support for patients going through treatment and beyond
Thanks to your kindness, patients can receive expert advice and free practical services from our team of specialist breast cancer nurses.
Specialist and personalised advice
Through our Nurse Advice Line telehealth service, we assisted thousands of women by providing information about concerning symptoms and support to those going through treatment. Enhancements to the programme this year allowed our nurses to offer an improved service for Kiwis in their greatest time of need, such as the introduction of SMS messaging so we can contact patients in the ways that work best for them.
Peer support
Our mybc Facebook group has grown to a vibrant patient community of more than 1,000 members who can connect with each other to learn from their shared breast cancer experiences. Our nurses support the community and are there to answer any questions or concerns as patients go through their treatment.
Expert information
More than 8,259 people tuned in to hear from the expert panels on our patient webinars. With topics ranging from breast density to life on long-term treatment, the webinars provide reliable information covering the whole spectrum of the breast cancer journey and are accessible to people at times and locations that suit them.
Charnelle’s story: How Breast Cancer Foundation NZ’s nurses helped to make her feel in control of treatment
Helen’s story: “The Breast Cancer Foundation NZ nurse was a lifeline for me”
Bridget’s story: “ABCpro brings me so much peace of mind”
Advocacy to improve access to screening and treatment
Together, we have a powerful voice in advocating for changes to the public health system so that Kiwis can have better access to timely diagnosis and treatment. Thank you for contributing to three game-changing advocacy wins this year.
Free mammogram age extended
After eight years of calling for the breast screening eligibility age to be raised from 69 to 74, the Government announced in February 2024 that work was underway by BreastScreen Aotearoa to make this happen. Women are at higher risk of breast cancer at 70 than they are at 50, so the age extension means more older women will get the chance to have their breast cancer diagnosed at an earlier stage, giving them a higher likelihood of survival.
Record Government funding for cancer drugs
Years of collective advocacy for investment in Pharmac has begun to pay off with the new Government giving a $604 million boost to fund new cancer medicines and committing to reforming Pharmac. This is an excellent start to ensure more Kiwis with breast cancer can get faster access to the same, necessary treatments that are already routinely provided overseas.
The first treatment for triple negative breast cancer
Pharmac named Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) as one of the first new cancer drugs it will make available with its new funding. Keytruda is a targeted treatment that can help stop TNBC from spreading and give people with advanced breast cancer more time. We are now calling for it to be funded for early TNBC too.
Margie’s story: Why raising the screening age to 74 is so necessary
Kat’s story: “Funded access to Keytruda opens a door to me that was previously closed”
Allison’s story: “Fighting for timely treatment had a huge impact on me”
205,644
hosted or attended a Pink Ribbon Breakfast
21,390
hours volunteered in the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal + NZ House & Garden Tours
Celebrating more than 20 years of partnership with: Estée Lauder Companies, Farmers Trading Company Ltd and ghd hair
And more than 10 years with: Harrisons, Robert Harris, Sealy NZ, NZ House & Garden Tours/Stuff
None of this is possible without you
All of this life-saving work is made possible by the wonderful support we are given from people like you throughout New Zealand.
We receive no government funding, so the thousands of people who back us every year are a vital part of the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ community who all share our vision of zero deaths from breast cancer.
The ways you show your amazing support are varied and diverse. Whether it’s through events and appeals like Pink Ribbon Breakfast, Pink Ribbon Street Appeal, Pink Ribbon Walk, leaving a gift in your Will, making a monthly gift, or through your business, your generosity continues to blow us away.
Thank you so much to everyone involved in our fundraising this year. Because of big-hearted New Zealanders like you and many others, one day, no one will die from breast cancer.
Julie’s story: 21 years of the Pink Ribbon Ride
Melanie’s story: “Why I’m leaving a gift in my Will to Breast Cancer Foundation NZ”
Harrisons’ story: More than carpets and curtain
Supporter recognition
We’d like to give a special thank you to some of our key supporters who are the lifeblood of everything we do: our corporate partners who we have such a strong relationships with, our major foundation, trusts and grant supporters who fund our life-saving programmes, individuals who have made a significant gift towards achieving our shared goal of zero deaths from breast cancer, and the generous people who passed away this year and made a long-lasting act of kindness by leaving us a gift in their Will.
We also want to thank our supporters who chose not to be named.
Major Partners
Major foundation, trust, and grant supporters
Gifts received through Wills in 2023/24
Estate of Elizabeth Clarke
Estate of Edith Conn
Estate of Andrew Lindsay Dixon
Estate of B Gilray
Norah Hamblin Memorial Trust
Estate of Barbara Joyce Laity
Estate of Bruce McKinstrie
Estate of Sandra Clare Romero
And a special thank you to all members of the Athlae Lyon Pink Ribbon Bequest Society for their dedication in supporting people impacted by breast cancer by leaving a gift to Breast Cancer Foundation NZ in their Will.
“My motivation is just the fun I have seeing everybody come together and the fact that we raise money for the most amazing cause”
Julie, organiser of the Auckland Pink Ribbon Ride
“I don’t want my godchildren, my surrogate children and grandchildren, or my nieces and nephews to lose anyone to breast cancer.”
Melanie, leaving a gift in her Will to Breast Cancer Foundation NZ
“Many Harrisons customers have been affected by breast cancer directly or indirectly, making the partnership resonate deeply with us.”
Leanne, General Manager of Harrisons
Governance
Breast Cancer Foundation NZ is governed by a Board of Trustees who are responsible for all aspects of the Foundation's strategy, operations and financial stewardship. In addition, the Foundation is guided by a Medical Advisory Committee of medical practitioners who give direction on a variety of programmes.
Members of both of these professional bodies are leaders in their respective fields who volunteer their time and expertise in the pursuit of our shared goal of zero deaths from breast cancer.
2023/24 Board of Trustees:
Justine Smyth CNZM, Chair
Patricia Wright, Vice Chair
Joanne McCrae, Vice Chair
Reena Ramsaroop, Medical Advisory Committee Chair
Sonia Breeze
Anna Buchly
Prue Kapua
Mary Los'e
Gordon MacLeod
Eugénie Masfen-Yan
Andrew Taylor
2023/24 Medical Advisory Committee:
Dr Reena Ramsaroop, Chairperson
Dr Reuben Broom
Dr Peter Chin
Dr Claire Hardie
Dr Maryann Heather
Dr Marion Kuper-Hommel
Dr Maria Pearse
Dr Monica Saini
Dr Paul Samson
Dr Eletha Taylor
We also want to acknowledge Bell Gully for their ongoing support of the Foundation.
Financial statements
As a charity that doesn’t receive any government funding, we are immensely grateful for the donations we receive, and we make sure every dollar makes a difference for Kiwis affected by breast cancer.
Click here to view the 2023/24 Breast Cancer Foundation NZ financial report, from www.charities.govt.nz.
