Editor's Press Release of the Month | Cost of cancer crisis – 1 in 8 blood cancer patients missing, delaying or cancelling treatment because they can’t afford it

Each month, Medianet’s editorial team selects a Press Release of the Month that demonstrates what it takes to cut through a crowded news cycle.

For September, the Editor’s Pick goes to the Leukaemia Foundation for its Blood Cancer Month campaign, led by the release, “Cost of cancer crisis: 1 in 8 blood cancer patients missing, delaying or cancelling treatment because they can’t afford it.”

The release launched the Leukaemia Foundation’s ‘Cut the Cost of Cancer’ campaign with new research revealing the financial toll of blood cancer. It found one in eight Australians living with blood cancer had missed, delayed or cancelled treatment because of financial pressures, while average annual out-of-pocket costs reached $3,910, with some families reporting costs above $20,000.

But what particularly makes this campaign stand out is how the Leukaemia Foundation continued to find new, distinct media angles throughout Blood Cancer Month, rather than relying on a single announcement.

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Five key takeaways for PR professionals:

1.  Lead with the statistic that tells the story
(news value: impact | significance | human interest)

“One in eight” immediately gives journalists and audiences a clear understanding of the issue.

Rather than simply saying blood cancer is putting Australians under financial pressure, the release quantifies a confronting consequence: some patients are missing, delaying or cancelling treatment because they cannot afford it.

The release then builds on this with further figures, including average annual out-of-pocket costs of $3,910 and accounts of families facing costs exceeding $20,000.

These numbers transform an abstract issue such as the cost of cancer into something tangible and immediately newsworthy.

PR takeaway: If your research contains a genuinely striking statistic, don't bury it halfway through the release. Give journalists the strongest news hook immediately.

2. Use authoritative new data to create a stronger story

(news value: authority | significance | impact)

Statistics establish the scale of a problem, but lived experience shows what those statistics actually mean.

The release included the experience of Adelaide blood cancer patient Stephen, whose diagnosis forced him to retire and contributed to significant financial pressure. His story illustrates the difficult choices behind the headline figure, including drawing on superannuation and managing the everyday costs of rent, food, bills and fuel while undergoing treatment.

Importantly, the Leukaemia Foundation also offered journalists access to people with lived experience in their local area, alongside CEO Chris Tanti and Head of Research Bill Stavreski.

This gives journalists several ways into the story, from national research and expert commentary to local case studies.

PR takeaway: When releasing research about people, make those people part of the story. A strong case study can turn statistics into something audiences understand and remember.

3. Turn an awareness month into a series of news moments

(news value: timeliness | relevance | novelty)

One of the strongest elements of the Leukaemia Foundation’s approach was that Blood Cancer Month was treated as a campaign rather than a single media announcement.

Ahead of September, the Foundation introduced Blood Cancer Month and made ambassadors from health and wellbeing, media, entertainment, politics and sport available to discuss their experiences with blood cancer.

The ‘Cut the Cost of Cancer’ research then provided a major opening news hook for the month.

Days later, the Leukaemia Foundation partnered with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood for World Leukaemia Day, revealing that an Australian is diagnosed with blood cancer every 26 minutes and highlighting that cancer patients are the nation’s largest users of donated blood products.

The campaign then shifted to regional inequality with a national scorecard examining travel support for cancer patients. It found significant differences between jurisdictions, including accommodation subsidies covering as little as 28 per cent of estimated real-world costs in some parts of Australia.

Later in the month, the Foundation partnered with Stem Cell Donors Australia for World Marrow Donor Day, highlighting research showing that Australians from some ancestry groups have a one in 10 chance or less of finding a full stem cell donor match through the Australian registry.

Each release supported the broader Blood Cancer Month conversation, but each also contained a distinct story capable of standing on its own.

PR takeaway: An awareness day or month doesn't have to mean one press release. Plan a sequence of genuinely different news hooks that can keep the broader issue relevant throughout the campaign.

4. Create different angles for different audiences
(news value: proximity | relevance | impact)

The campaign demonstrates how one overarching issue can be adapted for different journalists, audiences and news cycles.

The financial research created a national consumer and health story. The Lifeblood partnership provided a public-health and community participation angle. The travel-support scorecard created state and regional stories by showing how assistance differed depending on where patients lived. The stem cell donor story added health, science and multicultural community angles.

The campaign also made use of partnerships with organisations including Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and Stem Cell Donors Australia, adding new expertise and perspectives to the broader Blood Cancer Month story.

Rather than repeating the same message, each release found another way to demonstrate how blood cancer affects Australians

PR takeaway: Look beyond one audience. A strong campaign can generate multiple stories by identifying how the same issue intersects with different communities, locations and areas of interest.

5. Make it easy for journalists to build the story
(news value: timeliness | relevance | authority)

The campaign consistently gave journalists more than a written press release.

For the ‘Cost of cancer crisis’ story, Medianet carried interview opportunities with the Leukaemia Foundation’s CEO and Head of Research, access to people with lived experience and downloadable audio news grabs.

Other releases continued this approach. The national travel-support story provided a scorecard and additional state and territory assets, while the stem cell donor release offered expert spokespeople as well as access to people who had received or required a transplant.

These elements reduce the work required to turn a press release into a finished story and provide opportunities for journalists across broadcast, online, print and local media.

PR takeaway: Think beyond what you want to announce and consider what a journalist needs to cover it. Useful spokespeople, case studies, audio, visuals and localised data can all increase the versatility of a story.

Why this release stands out

As September’s Medianet Editor’s Pick for Press Release of the Month, the Leukaemia Foundation’s ‘Cost of cancer crisis’ release demonstrates the power of combining original research, a simple headline statistic, lived experience and a clear call for change.

But its strength is amplified by what followed.

Across Blood Cancer Month, the Leukaemia Foundation created a series of connected but independently newsworthy stories around treatment affordability, blood donation, regional access to care and stem cell donor diversity.

There was a consistent overarching message, but not a repetitive one.

That is an important lesson for PR professionals planning communications around awareness months and other extended campaigns. Instead of trying to fit every message into one announcement, identify the different stories within the campaign and give each one its own reason to be newsworthy.

The Leukaemia Foundation demonstrates how an organisation can use new research, memorable statistics, partnerships, lived experience, expert spokespeople and timely awareness days to sustain media interest around one important issue.

For PR professionals, the lesson is clear: don't just plan a press release around an awareness month. Plan a news cycle.