17 September 2026
For Wayne Swan, the case for better prostate cancer care is deeply personal. His father died from the disease; early detection saved his own life. In this letter to the editor, the Chair of PCFA’s Committee for the Elimination of Prostate Cancer calls on Australia to build on progress across other cancers and give every man a fair go—with greater investment in awareness, early detection and specialist support.
By the Hon. Wayne Swan
Chair, PCFA Committee for the Elimination of Prostate Cancer
This Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Australians will again be told that men should know their risk and talk to their doctor. But awareness without public investment is not a strategy.
The Australian Government deserves credit for its investment in screening and early detection across breast, bowel, cervical and lung cancers. That work provides a strong foundation to build on. More now needs to be done for prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. Nearly 29,000 men are diagnosed each year, around 4,000 die, and nearly 310,000 are alive today following a diagnosis.
Yet Australia still has no nationally funded prostate cancer awareness campaign or organised, risk-based testing program. Even with new world-leading Australian guidelines for early detection, men are largely expected to find the information and navigate testing for themselves.
I know what is at stake. My father died painfully from prostate cancer at 67. My own cancer was detected early – and that knowledge saved my life. Survival should not depend on luck, income or where a man lives.
The continuing gap in public investment in awareness and early detection needs attention, alongside ensuring men have access to specialist support after diagnosis.
As the Government changes its cancer nursing funding arrangements from July 2027, preserving the expertise and continuity of care provided by PCFA’s Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurses must remain a priority.
Good public policy must connect the entire cancer pathway – from awareness and early detection to treatment, survivorship and advanced disease. We cannot eliminate avoidable deaths while leaving men to navigate the beginning of that pathway alone. Specialist support must also be there when they need it and collaborations across the sector are vital.
For me, this issue comes down to a question that has shaped my own public life for decades, echoed in the music of Bruce Springsteen: when will ordinary people, people who work hard and care for their families, get a fair go?
His songs have stayed with me because public life has always demanded the same accountability – to the people whose health and lives are shaped by the decisions governments make. Australian men facing prostate cancer deserve that fair go: access to trusted information, early detection and specialist support, regardless of their income or where they live.
That requires a nationally funded awareness campaign, an organised risk-based testing program and continued access to specialist nurses, building on the Government’s good work across other cancers.
For information and support, visit pcfa.org.au or call 1800 22 00 99.
The Hon. Wayne Swan
Chair, PCFA Committee for the Elimination of Prostate Cancer
