A LOCAL cancer survivor who forked out thousands of dollars travelling to Melbourne for cancer treatment has called for greater travel rebates for regional patients.
Last Friday an alliance of more than 30 leading community and health organisations appealed for increased petrol and accommodation rebates under the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS), a State Government program for patients travelling more than 500km per week for medical treatment.
After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2012 Rebecca Herman travelled to Melbourne every three weeks for treatment but has since switched to an oncologist in Bendigo because it was financially unsustainable to travel from her Woorinen South home to Melbourne so frequently.
The VPTAS alliance, which includes the Cancer Council Victoria, the Country Women’s Association and the Victorian Farmers Federation, want to increase the petrol rebate from 20 cents to 30 cents and the overnight accommodation rebate from $41 to $80, but Ms Herman says she would like to see at least 50 percent of costs refunded.
“We have to travel to see an oncologist, it’s not something we have a choice in,” she said.
She labelled the VPTAS a “logistical nightmare”.
“A lot of the trips just got missed because I’d forgotten the forms, and they aren’t something the specialists have on hand,” she said.
Ms Herman said she would like to see the scheme improved in the hopes other Swan Hill cancer patients could seek medical treatment anywhere, regardless of travel costs.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Monday’s Guardian (August 17).
