00:00Hollywood film legend Sam Neill has spoken exclusively to Seven News about his devastating cancer diagnosis
00:06and the revolutionary therapy that helped him beat it.
00:10The star is now fighting to make sure everyday Australians can access the life-saving treatment.
00:17He's famous for surviving some of the biggest beasts ever to roam the earth.
00:26But for Sam Neill, the true fight of his life came as a stealth attack from within.
00:32I've been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy
00:39and it was a pretty miserable business, but it was keeping me alive.
00:44Then the chemo stopped working.
00:46I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn't ideal, obviously.
00:53Very brave to go on to a trial when you have no idea what the outcome's going to be.
00:58There was only one option left for the Hollywood star, CAR T-cell therapy,
01:03which genetically modifies patients' blood cells,
01:06a treatment that's currently in clinical trials to treat another blood cancer, myeloma.
01:12Turbocharged those cells to then be able to now recognise the myeloma,
01:17which was not visible to the immune system before, and then jump on it and kill it.
01:22I've just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body.
01:26That's an extraordinary thing.
01:27Jeff Nison has battled myeloma for a decade.
01:31I was standing on the edge of a cliff.
01:33It's not a nice place to be.
01:37CAR T-cell therapy saved him too.
01:40But the 52-year-old father had to fly to the US.
01:44Until now, it's only been available in clinical trials.
01:48Privately, it costs around $750,000.
01:52The fact that Australians are soon going to be able to receive these therapies from home,
01:58it's just amazing.
01:59Together, the men have been fighting for the state and federal governments
02:02to fund the treatment for blood cancer patients,
02:05with the help of medical foundation Snowdome.
02:08The initial regulatory authorities have approved that there is a need,
02:15and the next phase is final ratification of that, an announcement by the Minister.
02:21I'm very, very excited that this can happen.
02:23It's hoped the therapy will be formally approved and available to patients within a couple of months.
02:29To begin, it will be offered in Victoria and New South Wales,
02:32before being rolled out across the country.
02:35It's science at its best.
02:36As for Sam...
02:38It's time I did another movie.
02:40I got you.
02:41Christy Meyer, 7 News.
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