Cancer is a diagnosis no one wants to receive, but approximately 25,000 Kiwis will hear that bad news every year. 

Making those numbers even worse is the fact that our public health system doesn’t always go as far as it could to help those afflicted by our biggest killer.  

Just this week, a Rotorua man told the Herald about having to spend more than $100,000 over the last two years in his fight against bowel cancer.  

What are the root causes that allow this to happen? And why does Australia seem to have a better handle on cancer than Aotearoa? 
 
Today on The Front Page, Rachael Heart, chief executive of the Cancer Society, helps us understand the shortcomings of a system that allows so many to fall through the cracks.  

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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Ventuto
Producers: Shaun D Wilson and Paddy Fox
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills