Kirsten Pilatti was appointed CEO of Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) in March 2018. She has an exceptional understanding of the cancer sector having spent over a decade at BCNA and five years at Cancer Council Victoria where she was responsible for delivering communications and campaigns around prevention messages.

Kirsten has held a variety of roles at BCNA, including Director of Programs and Services, General Manager, Strategic Projects – State of the Nation, Partnerships Manager, and National Marketing and Communications Manager. Highly regarded for her passion and focus on Australian women and men who have been affected by breast cancer, she is committed to giving everyone a voice and reducing the disparity of care across the country.

Kirsten firmly believes that members are at the heart of what BCNA does and is dedicated to delivering services and supports that ensure women, men, families, colleagues, and friends affected by breast cancer have a place to turn to for information, connection, and support.

Her deep connection to our 120,000 members was cemented after spending 18 months traveling around Australia interviewing more than 3,500 women and men about their experience of breast cancer treatment and services to find out where the gaps in service delivery are occurring. The findings were outlined in the State of the Nation report, which was delivered to the Federal Parliament in June 2018.

She is also proud of the work she has done to turn the spotlight on important issues such as access to breast reconstruction for women in Cairns and driving changes to the Australian healthcare system including access to drugs through the PBS such as the CDK inhibitors for Australians with metastatic breast cancer.

More recently, the impact of COVID-19 on breast cancer treatment and care in Australia was highlighted following BCNA’s national survey of over 2,300 women and men diagnosed with breast cancer. Kirsten called on State and Territory Governments to act to ensure the disparity of care across Australia did not widen throughout the pandemic.

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