4 April 2016 - Businessman Ron Walker considers himself among the luckiest cancer survivors.

Not only was he accepted into the first clinical trial of a drug that had the potential to cure his melanoma, he could also afford the cost of both flying to the United States to participate, and the drug itself – a whopping $120,000 a year.

What's more, the drug, which carries about a 40 per cent cure rate, saved his life – he was last month declared cancer-free.
The millionaire chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, last year successfully helped push to get the drug, Keytruda, listed on the government's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme so that others could share in its benefits.

"I tried everything else except this new drug on trial..." Mr Walker said. "I remain the luckiest guy in the world to get it and have it work. It doesn't work on everyone and I just wanted to share my luck around."

Many more Australians are likely to face the decision of whether to enrol in clinical trials or obtain such drugs privately for a discount or free, with an Australian Medical Journal article revealing on Monday that hundreds more cancer drugs are expected to enter the market over the next five years.

For more details, go to: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/hundreds-of-cancer-drugs-to-enter-market-in-next-five-years-report-20160403-gnx9su.html