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Professor Jacinta Elston considers herself fortunate.
She was 33 when she found a lump in her breast.
"My youngest child was not yet 1 so it was a pretty different and devastating experience really in regional North Queensland. I'm blessed to still be here 20 years later, particularly given that nearly 45 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not make it past their cancer diagnosis."
She now serves as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Control Chair for Cancer Australia.
Drawing from her experiences, she's helped Cancer Australia develop the country's first national cancer plan.
The plan covers all cancer types - with a key focus on First Nations people.
"Cancer is like a dark cloud hanging over our mob. Every day, five of us are diagnosed with the disease. We're more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than non-Indigenous Australians but the good news is we have a plan to help turn this around. The Australian cancer plan is a new step in the right direction for our mob's fight against cancer."
Launched in Melbourne, the 10-year strategy seeks to improve outcomes.
Along with achieving equity for First Nations people, the plan aims to maximise cancer prevention and early detection, ensure better consumer experiences, and transform the delivery of care.
C-E-O of Cancer Australia, Professor Dorothy Keefe, says there needs to be streamlined access to treatment.
"We need to focus on making sure that we do the things that we already know how to do properly and that we don't put roadblocks in the way for smooth care."
The issue of access to adequate cancer treatment remains, especially difficult for those living in rural and remote areas.
Associate Professor Craig Underhill serves as Cancer Services Director at the Albury-Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre.
He says outcomes for cancer patients are markedly worse in the regions.
"Our cancer outcomes in metropolitan Australia are amongst the best in the world but once you go into remote Australia, regional Australia in general the outcomes are about 10 per cent worse."
He says there could be a number of reasons for this but he often finds patients are hesitant to pursue treatment options that would require them heading to major cities for care.
"We don't know why it is. Is it just the geography, is it lack of access to services or is there a socioeconomic overlay as well? But I know as someone who works in regional Australia anecdotally, I see all the time people make decisions not to access care if the care has to do with a particular speciality treatment that is only available in metropolitan Australia."
With more than 164,000 Australians estimated to be diagnosed this year, the government says the strategy is not only about improving survival rates.
Health Minister Mark Butler says they want to foster a better healthcare system that is easy to navigate.
"This plan is directed at making sure that not only the outcomes, the survival rates are as good as we possibly can get given the available technology and treatments nowadays but also the experience, the ability to navigate a complex healthcare system is as good as it possibly can be."
