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I moved to Australia in 2007 and then after having 4 children there we decided to return to the UK in 2013. Unfortunately, in 2019 I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. I have been very lucky to have had a good response to my treatment and I'm still here and stable over 3 years later. However, recently I have begun to wonder if I would get better treatment in Australia than in the UK. The nurses strikes haven't directly affected me yet, but a shortage of staff means that when I have my 3 monthly scans I have to wait 1-2 months for the results. This causes anxiety for me and my family and could mean that if my treatment stopped working I wouldn't know and my cancer could be progressing without me knowing. It feels like this could be be just the beginning and with the increase in cancer diagnosis' expected after covid that there could be further delays in other aspects of my treatment in the future. I remember always having a pretty positive experience of healthcare in Australia although I have no experience of cancer treatment there. So, what I would like to know is if anyone here does have an idea what it is like to be treated for cancer in Australia? What out of pocket expenses might I expect, such as payment for prescriptions and scans. I had always hoped to go back to Australia once the children had all finished school but I'm feeling more of a pull to go back again and try somewhere new.

Hi everyone, I’ll try and keep a long story short here. But it roughly goes. Visa Application in uk/ moved to Australia 7 months ago on tourist visa/ diagnosis of cancer/ likely refusal of visa My Parents applied for the contributory parent visa in feb 2015 in the UK, my sister and I, who are their only children,have both been living in au for 8 years as permanent residents. Mum and dad decided, after the announcement of their 4th grandchild’s arrival, that they would move to be with us from the UK our husbands and the children on a years tourist visa in April 2019 knowing that they would have to go offshore for the result. 3 months after their arrival in Australia my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and has under gone one radiation treatment round and some hormone therapy here in Australia. Yesterday, after a 3 years and 10 months a case officer is assigned. And we have been told by our agent that if his doctor estimates that he will cost the Australian health service more than $49k over the next 5 years he will not be entitled to the grant of the visa. Initial correspondence from the doctors office are indicating that this price tag will be exceeded. Assurance of support, police checks are all sorted but now we are facing a huge problem. My parents were initially told 24 months processing time, it has been nearly 4 years I guess I’m just after some desperate advice and to see if anyone else has gone through the same or similar situation. Or to contact anyone that can give us some information on this particular situation It seems so unjust that my dad, who is only 64 years young my be refused this visa. my sister and I our partners and our children love my mum and dad dearly,they have sold their house in the uk and shipped everything to Australia. I’m just at a loss.....

Cancer of the nail diagnosed and treated early. Date of discharge 21 March 2017. With this affect my 143 visa application - just lodged Thanks all

My family undertook medicals on March 1st. however on the 10th we discovered my wife had stomach cancer. She started chemo in April, underwent surgery in July, finished chemo in October, got the all clear in November.final medical report and very good prognosis sent Nov 17th. Although we know how lucky we are already, is there anyone who has been in a similar situation and can give us an indication of what decision we can expect. Yes, she has to be monitored for five yrs, but this can be done anywhere. I am the main applicant not my wife. Also advice on private medical insurance would be appreciated.

cancer diagnosed feb 2004, clear dec 2004.could this stop us.tra sent yesterday

Hi everyone, I wonder if somebody could give me some advice. My fiance is Australian (he is currently in Australia) and I am living in the UK (UK citizen - born and bred). We want to apply for a prospective spouse visa so that I can go to live with him there. The problem is, I was diagnosed with and treated for stage 1 breast cancer last year. It all went well - caught early so just a lumpectomy and 3 weeks radiotherapy. I am fully recovered now and back at work as a teacher. Is this cancer issue likely to go against my visa application? Also, would people advise using a migration agent to help us process the application and how do we find out who the best ones are. Many thanks, Lorraine

Hi, I'm an Australian moving back to Sydney next year with my english husband. I've been away for about 8 years so I can't really remember how things work with health care. Plus I never had much reason to be involved other than the odd cold, but things have changed. I was hoping that the combined wisdom here could help me with some questions. First - a bit of background: I've had successful treatment for cervical cancer this year. In remission since Feb, but still subject to three monthly follow ups and 6 monthly MRI's. It's expected that as I get older I would need a full hysterectomy to be safe, but they are allowing me a few years with just monitoring so I can try to have kids. To do that, I need IVF, and probably a few minor operations during that process. So would require a couple of hospital stays at a minimum. I'm 37, and will be 38 when I get back so I can't wait too long for all this. Questions: I know people can't really answer these with certainty, but I'd love to get any experiences or knowledge that is around. Cancer follow up: Would this normally be done within Medicare, and what would it cost? I know MRI's can be extremely expensive, but I'm not sure how much I'd have to pay. My oncologist here will hand over my care to a friend/colleague in Sydney, who I presume will charge private rates too. If they advised in a few years to do the more comprehensive operation, would Medicare also cover that? IVF: I know that Medicare provides support for IVF. Does anyone have experience of how this works, and how hard it is to get funded. In the UK it's a bit of a nightmare with long waiting lists, and you only get one 'go', but I'm not sure how it works in Australia. I'd love advice from anyone who has been through this. My Mum has told me that there is a cap with Medicare, over which more of the costs are paid, but could anyone advise if that applies to things like IVF? Private Health: What additional cover does Private health give me. I presume I'll be exempt for 12 months or so for both the IVF and the cancer costs, but after that would they cover me do you think? Both are clearly pre-existing conditions, and expected to cost a lot in the short and long term, so I'm worried I'll just be declined. When I lived in Australia I was a member of HCF, which I maintained for a year even after I left, but I'm not sure if that helps at all. Thanks in advance! This is quite a stressful thing for me as you can imagine, and I can't decide if we should activate our visa and then stay a while here in the UK where I understand the system more. But at the same time I want to get home to my family.

Hello All Haven't been around here for some time as we have been in Sunny Brisbane for 2 years and thought all the drama was over but oh no ! I have an issue with my parents 804 visa ( well a few issues really) and would really appreciate some help. Well we all arrived here in August 2010 and despite an ongoing rollercoaster ride we are all settled and life is good. Mum and dad (in their 80s) came with us and we followed advice to the letter. Onshore 804 visa was lodged in Sept 2010 and life was peachy till mum threw a homesick tantrum in Sept 2011 and insisted she and dad take a trip home so she could "feel English soil under her feet - I swear she should have been on the stage ! All good we applied for a bridging visa for 3 months and off they went. However when it was time for her to come back she started pulling the illness card and said she couldn't travel all that way. So the 3 months passed and they were still there. That I thought was the end of the story, bridging visa would lapse. Turns out mum was right about being ill this time as a scan in June revealed she has lung cancer ... oops !! Trouble is at her age they can't do a biopsy so can't say for sure what type or how bad. She has had a course of Radio and is now as right as rain. Whatever it is has shrunk but no-one knows when or if it will be back. She is not on any treatment now .. the doctors are just "waiting and watching" So I assume the visa has lapsed until 18th of December this year when I received the request for Medicals and Police Checks so they can be added to the queue. As you can imagine this has raised a few questions that I am hoping someone can help me out with. Firstly and perhaps most importantly, should the visa even still be processed as they are not here? I did call immigration when she first delayed the return and they were quite helpful advising that if she came back with medical evidence for the delay the visa may be re-instated but as yet that hasn't happened. Secondly (assuming they are still planning to process further) I am guessing mum would automatically fail the medical? Is it the case that if mum fails that dad would be rejected too? I suppose my main concern is dad who is desperate to come back, this will be even more important if mum is not around. I almost hate to suggest that the answer is to continue with dads application alone but I have to be realistic. However I am also wary that mum is doing OK and there is a possibility she may have a few years yet and she has mentioned coming back. I don't really know what to do and would appreciate some clarity which I know you are great at. Thanks as always for reading my ramblings. Happy New Year from Sunny Brisbane Jen x

Hi all just ready to send everything to AHPRA for nursing registration and Boom..a breast cancer diagnosis. Due for op and adjuvant therapy..will be on medication for five years. Once I am given the all clear, does anyone know if that will be enough to pass medical. Before this..I had no health problems and took the occasional paracetamol. I have looked online at some links but can't find a definitive answer, but some mention of five years disease free..? Any experiences?? Thanks. (don't want to give up on the dream..plus I'd be 45 in five years time..too old?):unsure:

Please can anyone help if the have been in this situation. My 475 relative sponcored visa application as been in since nov 08 but we didn't have medicals done our agent said not too due to the processing time. But I have since got breast cancer I have had the lump removed and had radiotherpy . I am told I am clear of breast cancer but I sill have to take tamoxifen for 5 years and breast scans. Will this stop us from getting to oz our agent as said just leave your application in but whats the point if I wouldn't pass meds I would rather face it and move on than have an impossible dream. Please help anyone even if its nots good news.

Hi After some advice really. I am 3 years post breast cancer and my family and I are seriously considering moving to Perth. Thankfully I have no lasting ill effects from my surgery and treatment but continue on oral hormone treatment until 2013. I am curious to find out if there are or have been other women in the same situation and whether they had any problems with visa applications/medical assessments. As the main applicant for our Visa applications I am worried our 'dream' of a new life in Australia may just be that.

We emigrated to Australia in 2009 with so much excitement about our new future, now two and a half years down the line I really wish we hadn't come. Don't get me wrong, there are many things I love about this place but you just can't forsee how your heart can be torn in two wanting to be in two places at once. 8 months ago my husband collapsed at home and at the hospital they found a brain tumour. He has since had extensive brain surgery and we have been told the brain cancer will come back at some stage. He had never really settled here but now that this has happened he wants to consider moving back to the UK. Me and the kids love our life here but we are prepared to look at moving back, expecially since my oldest daughter and grandson are living in the UK. The reason I wish we had never come is that I know I will miss this place terribly, but then again I also miss the UK and my daughter and grandson. While I live here I miss so much from back home, but if we live in the UK I would miss so much about our lifestyle in Perth. It would have been so much easier if we had just been a bit more satisfied wth our old life in the UK and not followed this yellow brick road to OZ.

[WRAP]http://www.pomsinoz.com/images/tasmaniandevils.jpg[/WRAP]According to a new study in the Journal of Applied Ecology, culling does not effectively control the contagious cancer threatening the Tasmanian devil. The researchers modelled the effect of removing sick animals on the disease's prevalence in a small population. The study seems to confirm findings in wild trials, that selective culling of sick animals is ineffectual at stopping the spread of the disease. All trial culls of the devils have now been stopped. Culling has been used to control infectious diseases in a range of species from deer to badgers, wolves to domestic cattle. Despite proving successful in controlling the diseases of livestock, such as foot and mouth, culling wild animals is controversial because of the lack of evidence that it works. In fact, cases exists where culling wild animals has made the problem worse. But, hoping to save the Tasmanian devil from the facial cancer that has wiped out more than 90% of individuals in some areas, conservation biologists have trialled a cull since 2004. As part of the trial cull, researchers have trapped and euthanised sick animals two to five times a year from an isolated population in the south-east of Tasmania. To assess the impact of the cull, Australian researchers Nick Beeton from University of Tasmania and Hamish McCallum from Griffith University created a computer model in which they simulated the effects of the cull. "We found the removal rate required to suppress disease was higher than that which would be feasible in the field," explained Mr Beeton. In the field, biologists find that 20% of the population is never captured and could be acting as a reservoir for the disease. Unless all the devils are trapped and inspected, including the "trap-shy" ones, continuous culling is unlikely to be an effective disease control, the researchers write. Mr Beeton said "The disease suppression trial was ended as this paper was being written." "Our research demonstrates that we must be flexible and be prepared to change strategy as new information comes to light," he added. "It's much better to do a study like this, than spend a lot of money on a huge culling programme and then find that it hasn't worked," said geneticist Elizabeth Murchison from the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, UK, who studies the devil cancer. She added that by confirming that culling does not work, conservationists can then focus their efforts on alternative strategies, such as the captive breeding programme and developing a vaccine against the cancer. Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15158814

ONE of the world's most venomous animals deserves better protection in Australian waters, as it may yield a potential cure for cancer, according to a new report. The blue-ringed octopus is found throughout the country’s coastal waters, particularly in rock pools. A single bite from the marine creature can paralyse a human within minutes. The octopus has been linked to at least four deaths around the world. In a report released by a US researcher, it is argued not enough is known about the tiny octopus’s global distribution, and it could in fact be an endangered animal. Marine biologist William Lambert, from Prescott College, wrote in his report A Review of Blue-Ringed Octopus Conservation, the highly venomous animals were majestic representatives of poorly understood species, which were difficult and dangerous to study. "Experts have been unable to prove whether or not they are a declining or endangered species," Mr Lambert said. The toxic venom of the octopus could yield clues for further advances in medicine. "Blue-ringed octopuses possess one of nature’s most potent chemical compounds with the potential to provide treatments for human diseases," Mr Lambert wrote in his report. "Future research may one day provide a biomedical discovery for new medications to neutralise pain or even treat cancers."

Wonder if anybody can help me sort this one out. I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma about 4.5 years ago. My doctors are happy and they've told me that it is not usually the kind of cancer than comes back at this point (I do know that its never a certainty with cancer) So I have 2 questions really. 1. Will I have a problem passing the medical assessment as I am in good health at the moment. 2. Is there any way I can do the Health assessment first without risking the entire VISA fee on this one factor. Thanks in advance!

Hi, does anyone know if this is possible? We were looking to migrate but I have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, I had the surgery and am having the chemotherapy now. Does this mean I will never pass a medical to migrate or is there a timescale whereby I have to be clear and then I would pass? Other than this I am usually very fit and healthy, thank you

Hi Me and my OH have already got our visa which we validated in August last year, but we have had to delay everything as my OH got diagnosed with Bowel Cancer early on this year. I was wondering if anyone else has moved to Aus after receiving treatment and getting the all clear for cancer. Would love to get some advice on how you got on and if you still got screened when you moved. Thanks for you help. Lynne

Hi all, Am new to this forum, I am currently a student nurse about to go into my 2nd year, and we have been given our elective placements to organise for our 3rd year. I am looking to go to Australia for mine. For 2 reasons mainly, first being I intend on emigrating over there when i qualify, and I think experiencing an elective placement over there, will be a valuable experience to 'test the water' as it were and do some major fact finding. Secondly alot of my family are over there and it would be great to see them too and help with the whole emigration process. What i wanted to know, is i am interested in cancer nursing, and the place where i would like to go and do my elective placement is Melbourne. I stumbled across the Peter Mac Cancer Centre in Melbourne, just wondered if any of you had experiences of there? If it is a good hospital? Any info would be great really! Not only would this elective placement be great to work there, but they also do grad nursing programs, so I would look at hopefully applying after to join them when i emigrate. Am not sure how realistic this all is, but would appreciate any advice, if poss. Many thanks Sarah

Hi, Im hoping someone can tell me what we are physically required to do for the medical. My husband has hurt his shoulder and has AC joint seperation which means he has limited movement in it at the moment but will mend itself over time. Theres nothing that can be done for it apart from letting it rest (the silly bugger fell off his push bike when drunk!). Do we have to do much in terms of moving our bodies or is it mainly static stuff?

Hiya, i'm considering moving to Australia, but my daughter (in our year 11) wishes to go on to university to do MBBS medicine, and then Cancer Studies. I can't find the Cancer Studies course on any of the university websites, wondering if anyone knows anything? Thanks

Hi there, Can anyone advise. We've just launched state sponsorship application (ACT) before going to DIAC (assuming ok). I cannot get info re dodgey health issues (now resolved). I'm 37 & a year clear from breast cancer (v. small, lumpectomy, ie tumor removed no evidence of cancer in bloods, etc. node negative ie not likely to have travelled). It seems that you need to be 5 yrs clear from what I have read on forums but its really on case by case basis it seems... has anyone been through the process okay with early stage disease history? We're going for a 176 subclass so its a permanent visa so full medical...we will have private health insurance but I believe that doesn't matter as residents are entitled to health care ... I will arm myself when going to medical with uptodate test results showing clear and my oncologist said he will give me letter stating excellent prognosis ... any advice you can give would be really appreciated. M

hey so any one who is on facebook it would be great if you could support. a friend of mine at the age of 16 was diagnosed with cancer and is now age 25 and continuing to go in and out of remission after being in comas and having kemo and so much more she still has a beautiful personality and strives to help people. her one wish is to get to see oprah when she is in sydney and we would love if you could support her plea on facebook by looking in the publice events for "pls get lucyon oprah show<3" all you have to do is clicked accept and hopefully the word will continue to spead until it reaches the right people. i beg you if you are not intrested then please do not leave rude comments as many people have seem to done this is for a real person with real feeelings and its the last thing she needs thrown in her face. thank you all so much xxnicole

I know that many of you will think it could never happen especially with the weather we are having at the moment, but I just want to remind everyone the sun over here is fierce (yes, ok, when it comes out) and you must remember to slip slop slap. I had a message from my mum yesterday who informed me she has skin cancer, it came as quite a shock as she always puts the sun cream on, BUT, it is on her legs. Now let's face it how many of us just do our arms, shoulders, face and backs and ignore the legs, I know I do. So please remember to cover yourself everywhere. Kate:notworthy:

On a serious vain here people. I know its something us men don't like talking about much, but we really should get down to it. My father has suffered from prostate cancer for several years. Luckily on a routine check up they found it early. He is on constant medication and will be forever, and the prognosis is very good. In all likelihood he will die from just plain old age, rather than the cancer. God willing he will be about for years to come though. Men of a certain age, me included should get their prostate examined on a regular basis. I'm approaching 47 and to date I have had several checks, and will continue to do so. I'm far from a hypochondriac, but commonsense often prevails. I wish I could say it was a pleasant experience, won't go into details, but finger, lubricant and gloves jump to mind.:biglaugh: I don't want to scare anyone, far from it, but at the end of the day fellas isn't five minutes down the GP's well worth it rather than leaving and leaving it until it 'may' be too late. As I said, not wanting to cause a downer but prostate cancer whilst being a frightening word is far from a killer if found EARLY. I guess it's a bit like breast examinations for the ladies and cervical smears. We all get embarrassed to a degree, and God almighty I was the first time, but in all honesty some slight discomfort may avoid a life spent with a disease that 'can' be a killer if not caught early enough. I dare say someone will come along and advise even more, nurses/doctors etc, and hopefully they will give some better advice. But as a layman I was just hoping that this thread 'may' lead to a bit of understanding and hopefully urge some to take the 'Finger Test':biglaugh: Hope haven't offended, after all illness and death is not a particularly happy subject but these things don't do any harm to get the occasional outing. Cheers Tony.

Hi all, my in-laws have a CPV application in and my father in-law has just been told that he does not meet the health requirement. In 2007 he had lung cancer and had a portion of one lung removed. Unfortunately they missed a secondary tumour in his adrenal gland which also has been successfully removed in May 2010. He is now clear, and has been all along. (He's much fitter than I am!) Its a great shame that they did not spot the secondary on the original scan as he would now of been clear for 3 years. They will be the last members of my wife's family to go to Oz, we leave in 3 weeks and she has 2 brothers down under and one back here, although he has his Aussie citizenship. Any help would be much appreciated.