Our Story
There is a simple story that describes the essence of Rare Cancers Australia.
A boy and his father are walking along the beach. They are met with starfish strewn as far as the eye can see. The little boy picks one up and throws it back into the sea.
“Don’t bother, son, there are too many, you can’t make a difference to them all,” says the father.
The boy picks up another starfish, throws it into the sea and says, “I made a difference to that one.”
This story perfectly illustrates RCA’s approach to patient support; an approach that originates from co-founder Kate Vines.
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Our Impact
We believe that no Australian should have to go through their cancer journey alone.
Over the last 10 years, the team at Rare Cancers Australia has worked to improve the lives and health outcomes of Australians living with rare, less common and complex cancers – today and into the future.
Domains of practice
Patient Centred Navigation: What matters to you, matters to us.
Here are some examples of how we are making a difference.
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Our mission
Rare Cancers Australia’s mission is to improve the lives and health outcomes of all Australians living with rare, complex and less common cancers.
Our Strategic Goals to achieve our mission are: Patient Advocate, Meaningful Impact, A Trusted Voice, Outcome Oriented, Workplace Culture.
About our mission Download the RCA Strategic Plan on a Page
Why rare cancer patients need our support
A cancer diagnosis can be abrupt, alarming and have a devastating impact on patients and their loved ones.
When patients are diagnosed, it is often accompanied by a plan. Their GP will give them information about their cancer and support services, send them for further testing, and write a referral to a specialist.
But what if the cancer is so rare that standard treatment does not yet exist?
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What is a rare cancer?
In Australia, a rare cancer is defined as an incidence of less than six per 100,000 of the population, and a less common cancer is an incidence between six and twelve inclusive per 100,000 of the population.
While we have seen increases in incidence for common cancers, we have also seen dramatic reductions in mortality due to early diagnosis and improved treatments, but this has not been the case for rare and less common cancers where diagnosis remains slow, and treatment availability limited.
Find Out More Rare Cancers Awareness Day
Meet the Team
Rare Cancers Australia (RCA) was founded in 2012 by Kate and Richard Vines. Over the past 12 years RCA has grown into a team of passionate, dedicated professionals focused on our mission to improve the lives of Australians affected by rare and less common cancers.
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Christine Cockburn
CEO
Airlie Coates
Executive Assistant to CEO
Cathy Slattery
Head of Patient Programs
Jaime Macedo
Cancer Navigation Program Lead
Kirsten Sherry
Specialist Cancer Navigator
Tenaya Wright
Specialist Cancer Navigator
Royce Kearnan
Specialist Cancer Navigator
Arlie Novy
Cancer Navigation Education Lead
Brownyn West
Project Manager - ACNNP
Samantha Karmel
Health Promotion Specialist
Natalie Clancy
Head of Fundraising
Nikki Kerr
Head of Partnerships
Sarah Benger
Head of Policy and
Public Affairs
Shawn Clackett
Senior Manager of Data,
Insights, and Policy
Florence Ao
Finance Officer
Sarah Clausen
Head of Operations
Alicia Moses
Project Administration Support
Alicia Ballesty
Head of Strategic Communications
James Mathews
Marketing Manager
Laura Cohalan
Communications Specialist
Lydia Willoughby
Pinnacle Program Coordinator
Alexander Smith
IT Specialist
Kathie Griffiths
Online Project Officer and Administrator
Tamsin Farrugia
Rare Cancers PhD candidate (La Trobe University)
Board of directors
Meet the friendly faces behind Rare Cancers Australia and find out why we're all determined to make an impact.
Meet our team
Advocacy & Research
We can do better. We will do better.
Nobody is speaking for those diagnosed with a rare or less common cancer, there is no research funding, no funded treatments, nothing. It’s as though the system has decided that rare is just too hard.
National Oncology Alliance
The National Oncology Alliance (NOA) is a cancer advocacy initiative with more than 100 members in four pillars: patients, patient groups, clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry.
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Reports & Submissions
We are determined to increase awareness, highlight the need for further research and initiate policy discussion.
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Contact your local MP
We believe one of the best ways to get your voice heard by government is to let your local MP know what issues are facing people in their own electorate. As your representative, it is their job to listen. By working together, we can make a difference.
Find out how