Sam Neill’s life-saving cancer treatment will soon be available to all 

Sam Neill has opened up about his cancer battle, revealing how a breakthrough treatment helped save his life and why he is now advocating for greater access for Australians.

Speaking to 7NEWS, the film star said he had been living with a form of lymphoma for several years and initially relied on chemotherapy.

“I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive,” Neill said.

“Then the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously.”

With limited options available, Neill turned to CAR T-cell therapy, an emerging treatment that modifies a patient’s own immune cells to better detect and fight cancer.

“[We] turbocharge those cells to then be able to now recognise the myeloma, which was not visible to the immune system before and then jump on it and kill it,” haematologist Miles Prince said.

Neill said the results have been life-changing, and he has since he entered remission.

“I’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing,” he said.

Another patient, Geoff Nyssen, who has lived with myeloma for a decade, said the same treatment had a profound impact on his life.

“I was standing on the edge of a cliff, it’s not a nice place to be,” he said.

Until now, access to CAR T-cell therapy has been limited, with some patients travelling overseas and facing costs of up to $750,000 for private treatment.

“The fact that Australians are soon going to be able to receive these therapies from home, it’s just amazing,” Nyssen said.

Neill and Nyssen have been advocating for government funding of the treatment, alongside the Snowdome Foundation, with hopes it will soon become more widely available.

“The initial regulatory authorities have approved that there is a need and the next phase is final ratification of that and announcement by the minister,” Prince said.

If approved, the therapy is expected to be rolled out first in Victoria and New South Wales before expanding nationally.

“I’m very, very excited that this can happen,” Neill said.

“It’s science at its best,” he added.

After a difficult few years, the actor is now looking ahead.

“It’s time I did another movie.”

Image: 7News