Omico

20/07/2025

Rare Cancers Australia continues to help those who need a little extra support and feel less alone — for people living with cancer, and for the carers who walk beside them.

Please share with anyone who might need to connect, to ask questions, and to grow their community of support.

Want to connect with people who really understand what a rare cancer experience is like?

Our support groups help you do just that – chat with others who can relate to your experience, ask questions, share tips and advice, or simply feel less alone.

They’re facilitated by a Specialist Cancer Navigator and run via phone or videoconference, so you can join from anywhere that suits you!

To be added to our next invitations, head to: https://bit.ly/3HlFUPh

18/07/2025

👀 Curious to know more?

Our newsletter shares updates on Omico’s research, initiatives, partnerships and progress - all focused on making precision oncology more accessible for Australians with cancer.

Subscribe and stay informed to the latest from Omico:
👉 https://www.omico.com.au/webform/

Turns out, there’s always a lot to get caught up on.

17/07/2025

Well done Rare Cancers Australia and Christine Cockburn for your tireless efforts.

At Omico, we share your concerns about the challenges faced by people with rare cancers— delayed diagnosis, little or no access to effective treatment.

That’s why Professor David Thomas made it a priority to contribute to this 10 News+ story, highlighting how precision oncology can offer real hope: using genomic testing to understand what’s driving a cancer to grow, and matching that to a precise treatment most likely to work for that individual.

Journalist Claudia Vrdoljak asks: “What if you could pretty much guarantee the drugs would be effective?”

Watch the full 6-minute segment to hear the powerful lead-up— and to hear Professor Thomas’s response, and why equitable, affordable access matters now, not later.

When we have options at our fingertips, we shouldn’t be leaving our mates with rare cancers behind.

📺 Watch now: https://bit.ly/3GqncWE



Cancer Institute NSW UNSW Medicine & Health Children's Cancer Institute Love Your Sister

There’s hope people living with rare cancers may soon have more affordable access to treatment.

An application for one immunotherapy, Keytruda, is currently before the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, requesting it be subsidised for all people with rare cancers.

Currently, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listings are for specific forms of cancer, meaning people with rare indications often miss out.

The difference can be thousands of dollars, and for some people, the cost is simply out of reach.

Two patients currently supported by Rare Cancers Australia, and paying enormous costs for their immunotherapy, as well as our CEO Christine Cockburn featured in a piece on 10 News+ this week.

Watch the story here: https://bit.ly/3GqncWE

16/07/2025

So… this happened today…

Live on Channel 7’s Sunrise this morning with Love Your Sister Foundation — talking about how , a revolution in cancer care, is changing lives.

Massive thanks to Samuel Johnson and Lucy Freeman for the opportunity, to Jason Langdon for bravely sharing his story, and to our own Professor David Thomas for always showing up for the cause 🙌

Grateful to Sam Mac, Monique Wright and Matt Shirvington for their warmth and for helping bring this important conversation into Aussie homes 💙

We’ll be sharing more from the day soon — stay tuned! For now, here’s a glimpse behind the scenes: before, during and after the cameras rolled.



📸 Images:
✨ 1: Pre broadcast
✨ 2: Live on Sunrise
✨3: That’s a wrap!

UNSW UNSW Medicine & Health Cancer Institute NSW Children's Cancer Institute Rare Cancers Australia

12/07/2025

💡 On this , we reflect on what really means in the fight against cancer.

💛 At Omico, hope isn’t just about believing — it’s about doing. We work to bring hope where it’s needed most: to people with less survivable and rare cancers, who often have few or no options for effective treatment.

That’s why we’re calling for precision oncology to become routine care in Australia — starting with those with rare and less survivable cancers, and ultimately for everyone. Together, we can make this the standard, not the exception.

Together, cancer meets its match.
🔗 Find out more about precision oncology:https://www.omico.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2006541_Omico_Patient-Booklet_DIGITAL_v1.0.pdf

“…we were given two options that we didn't have prior to the CaSP program and the genomic testing. It gave us some hope that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. It gave us more options, and from that, that actually opened up more doors for even more treatment options.” - Tara Grant, cancer patient.

10/07/2025

🎧 What makes Omico’s founder tick?

From studying English literature, light bulb moments, to pioneering precision oncology — hear Professor David Thomas share his remarkable journey in the latest podcast.

👉 Originally developed for medical students at UNSW, this episode offers insights for everyone, from healthcare professionals to the general community, on how science and compassion come together in David’s work:

“You can’t help but feel very fond of your patients, particularly in an area like oncology, where time is so critical for many people, but it’s also blended with science…. A very privileged career.”

In just 36 minutes, get a personal glimpse into how David balances cutting-edge science with deeply human care, and how genomics is transforming cancer treatment in Australia.

💙 Listen now and get closer to the heart of precision oncology.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/an-oncologists-journey-to-reimage-genomics-with-dr/id1585655624?i=1000715120951

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PSSlKfotDo



UNSW UNSW Medicine & Health Cancer Institute NSW Children's Cancer Institute Rare Cancers Australia Love Your Sister Bedside Murmurs

27/06/2025

💡 Omico’s programs show how precision cancer care can change lives. But to help more Australians, this can’t remain a research project—it needs to become routine cancer care, especially for those with less survivable cancers.

“The value proposition of our model of care has become increasingly clear… The big challenge is to move out of cyclical research funding… to mainstream it where it has to be accessible wherever patients are.”
— Professor David Thomas, Omico

🎧 Listen to the full ABC interview: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/changing-australia-david-thomas-ramping-up-fight-against-cancer/105287932


ABC Radio National

26/06/2025

This Rare Cancer Awareness Day, we want you to know: we are working for you, every day.

For Australians living with rare cancers, the journey is often harder—delayed diagnoses, limited treatment options, and fewer chances to access the latest in care.

At Omico, we’re working to change that. Through our current programs, we already help thousands of people with difficult-to-treat cancers access free comprehensive genomic profiling and potential matches to targeted treatments or clinical trials.

But we know more needs to be done. That’s why we’re continuing to advocate for PrO-HSI—a first-of-its-kind national solution to bring precision oncology into routine care, starting with rare cancers.
✅ Fair – focused on those with the fewest options
✅ Smart – backed by data, science and experience
✅ Affordable – designed with a clever approach to funding

With PrO-HSI, we can give more Australians the chance to benefit from the science that’s already changing lives.

📄 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gg9ysC27



Children's Cancer Institute Rare Cancers Australia Love Your Sister Cancer Institute NSW

26/06/2025

Today is .

We’re standing with our partners at Rare Cancers Australia to shine a light on the challenges faced by people with rare, less common and complex cancers.

Together, we share a commitment to making precision oncology more accessible—so that people with limited treatment options, including those with rare cancers, can benefit from advances in genomics and personalised, precision care.

Learn more and show your support: https://give.rarecancers.org.au/rare-cancers-awareness-day

To learn about precision oncology: (link to our patient booklet)https://www.omico.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2006541_Omico_Patient-Booklet_DIGITAL_v1.0.pdf

Today is Rare Cancers Awareness Day.

It’s a day to shine a spotlight on cancers that may otherwise be forgotten, to recognise the challenges of a rare diagnosis, to raise awareness, and to show our support for people diagnosed with rare cancers.

Here’s how you can get involved:
☝️ add your fingerprint to our online pledge for rare – help us reach 1,000 pledges!
ℹ️ download an ‘I’m Aware of Rare’ Info Kit
🧦 order your FREE ‘rare pair’ of socks with your info kit download
🎬 watch videos featuring members of our rare community
📲 spread the word using our social media resources.

You can find all this on our website at: https://bit.ly/4dRUZ7r

Rare Cancers Awareness Day proudly partners with Icon Cancer Centre - Australia

25/06/2025

🎧 It’s not just about testing—it’s about turning those results into treatment options where possible.

When someone with a difficult-to-treat cancer participates in Omico’s program, their cancer tissue is profiled in detail—but that’s just the beginning. The real power lies in how those results are used to scan the country for possible treatment matches.

“When patients are referred onto the program, we provide the molecular profiling, but the most important thing that we do is map the results of that profile against everything we know about clinical trials across the country… and what goes back to the referring doctor is information not only about the molecular profile but where they can get access to the (recommended) treatments. We issue reports with recommendations in about 70% of cases, and in about 37%… the recommendations, I think, are very clinically important.”
— Professor David Thomas, Omico

💡 Hear the full 15-minute ABC interview: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/changing-australia-david-thomas-ramping-up-fight-against-cancer/105287932


ABC Radio National

18/06/2025

It’s Rare Cancer Awareness Day on 26 June.

People diagnosed with rare and less common cancers often face the unthinkable: limited treatment options, little public awareness, and a lack of support networks.

Rare Cancers Australia are leading the charge to change that—advocating for people with rare, less common and complex cancers, and raising national awareness of the unique challenges they face.

At Omico, we’re proud to stand with Rare Cancers Australia. While our programs are available to people with advanced, poor-prognosis cancers—whether rare or common—we absolutely share RCA’s commitment to improving outcomes for those with the fewest options.

Download RCA’s free info kit to learn more about rare cancers—and how you can help raise awareness of rareness.
📘 https://give.rarecancers.org.au/rare-cancers-awareness-day

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17/06/2025

🎧 What if helping people with cancer also helped our economy?

It’s possible. Omico’s Professor David Thomas recently spoke on about the impact of investing in clinical trials—both for patients, and for Australia as a whole.

“…by increasing clinical trials for cancer patients, you not only improve cancer outcomes but you also inject foreign direct investment into our economy… taking advantage of Aussie ingenuity in a more effective way.”

💡 Hear the full 15-minute conversation: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/changing-australia-david-thomas-ramping-up-fight-against-cancer/105287932



ABC Radio National
Rare Cancers Australia Love Your Sister