Easier access for lung cancer treatment

An immunotherapy treatment soon to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has given grandmother-of-nine Deborah Christie hope for more time with her family.

"That's all I want. More time with my family," she told AAP.

The 58-year-old former oncology nurse was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer last year and is now focused on making memories with her large family.

She overcame a breast cancer after a diagnosis in 2010, but describes the lung cancer as a "mongrel".

Ms Christie is undergoing an immunotherapy treatment which is set to be listed on the PBS from next month.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt expects Tecentriq's listing to benefit 1000 Australians per year, who would have otherwise had to fork out nearly $60,000 for a round of treatment.

About 2000 Australians are diagnosed with small cell lung cancer each year, which makes up about 15 per cent of all lung cancers.

Most people die within a year from the diagnosis.

Associate professor at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Tom John said the immunotherapy was the biggest change to small cell lung cancer treatment in decades.

"It's the first time we've seen an incremental shift. This is where things start," he told AAP.

"We've hopefully shifted things so that people are living longer with the addition of immunotherapy, and the next step would be to make that even longer again."

The treatment has been known to extend the lifespan of a person with cancer for several months.

"You might not say that's a lot, but we're talking about a cancer that has had no effective gains in survival for decades," Assoc Prof John said.