Luca Brasi's Tyler Richardson Shines A Light On Broken Access To Cancer Treatment In Australia
"The lengths you have to go to in order to save the life of a kid..."
Luca Brasi (Credit: Tom Wilkinson)
Luca Brasi’s Tyler Richardson has shared his son Harris’s story on A Current Affair and Instagram, highlighting how broken the system is in accessing certain cancer treatments in Australia.
This time last year, Richardson’s bandmate, Patrick Marshall, started a GoFundMe fundraising campaign after Harris – one-year-old at the time – was “diagnosed with cancer out of the blue”.
Richardson and his wife, Alix, moved to Melbourne so Harris could receive treatment at a Melbourne hospital.
The parents were left with “a financial strain” on top of “what is already a super stressful time for them”.
The family starred in A Current Affair to discuss just how difficult the journey has been. Tyler and Alix are now considering flights to America to access cancer treatment for Harris that isn’t yet approved in Australia.
In between footage and photos of Harris in the hospital, A Current Affair highlighted that he’s also a happy little boy who’s been taken to the AFL, donning Essendon gear.
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“It seems like insanity,” Richardson told A Current Affair’s Ally Langdon about having to fly to the US to access the treatment Harris needs.
Langdon then told Alix that the federal Health Minister, Mark Butler, is doing what he can, as quickly as he can, to help Harris and other families dealing with the same horrific circumstances.
At the moment, Butler is looking at funding the family’s trips to the US for the treatment, but that’s not what they’re actually after. Alix and Tyler don’t understand why they have to wait another year for the essential, life-saving drug to be approved in Australia so Harris could get the treatment he needs now, in Melbourne, rather than fly and risk further illness as an already immunocompromised child.
“The lengths you have to go to in order to save the life of a kid,” Richardson captioned the video of their appearance on A Current Affair on Instagram. “The desperation, the hopelessness and a Health Minister telling you on the phone that unfortunately we just have to wait.
“There is no tomorrow for some kids. There is no option to travel for some kids. Equity and accessibility NOW. Sending love to those who have lost and those still fighting everyday. Keep your head up.”
Richardson also urged his followers to tag Butler and their local MPs when sharing the video: “lot of people asking. Please feel free to tag @markbutlermp and your local senator,” he wrote.
You can watch the Richardson family on A Current Affair below.
Last September, Luca Brasi released their latest album, The World Don’t Owe You Anything, and followed it up with a national tour with special guests, Spanish Love Songs earlier this year. You can check out The Music’s photo gallery from their Adelaide show here.
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