This began as a straight down the line, report the facts type of article, and what follows is pretty much that.
But first please allow some self-indulgence perhaps earned after decades as a commentator and analyst:
Opinion: The world is closing in on a cure for cancer. Expert doctors tell me the number which can be cured will increase consistently, and within 30 years say 80 per cent will be curable. They say they have found the "holy grail" of cancer treatment.
That is staggering, but the problem is we must be ready for that and in this country we are not.
I plead with the government to speak with the people I have spoken to. I plead with the government to heed the international warnings.
I urge the government to consult the scientists on several continents.
Already people are dying in this country who need not die.
This could touch any of us at any time, our children or families.
It could be the difference for some between life and death. It is that important.
That is a layman's dramatic analysis, but I have spoken to many people who are expert and I have read various reports.
I am convinced.
Governments must stop sleepwalking towards the cliff.
They must consult, read these reports and pause the political treadmill long enough to hear the alarm bells.
There. That's the emotion and the commentary.
Now the facts:
We face a moral, medical and financial tsunami
Senior Australian medical specialists now believe that within a matter of years, 80 per cent of cancers will be curable but warn Australia is not ready for the surge in technology that will achieve it.
It seems inevitable that the country faces a moral, medical and financial tsunami which could create a two-tiered health system where people with a great deal of money can buy life-saving treatment and those without may die.
Some compare the impending crisis to what is faced with climate change, and say it needs similar political focus and effort if it is to be managed properly.
The bad news is caused by good news.
Both the problem and the answer seem to be CAR T cell therapy, and the emerging technology of immunotherapy.
In very simple terms the T cells in the body, which fight infection, are removed and genetically reprogrammed to attack the cancer causing the illness.
The cells are then returned to the patient with the intention they attack the cancer specifically.
There are now more than 1000 studies underway around the world focusing on immunotherapy for different forms of blood cancers and solid cancers.
Even diabetes could potentially be treated with this science.
But it is expensive.
One treatment, which is all that is required, costs between $500,000 and $600,000.
Experts say that will become cheaper, but not as quickly as the technology develops to fight just about all cancers.
'This is seen as the holy grail for cancer treatment'
One of the country's most highly qualified and respected doctors is haematologist Professor Miles Prince.
He is renowned for his work at the Peter MacCallum Institute and and is director of Molecular Oncology at Epworth.
"This is seen as the holy grail for cancer treatment," he said.
"There is every possibility that within a generation, perhaps 30 years, immunotherapy could cure 80 per cent of cancers.
"This is like climate change and the move from fossil fuels to renewables. It is that important and that complex.
"CAR T already cures some lymphomas and leukemias. It will definitely cure more cancers.
"There is a financial tsunami headed our way. I think we need to follow the model of the Reserve Bank and the economy.
"The reserve monitors the financial machinations of the world and makes recommendations or decisions accordingly.
"We need a medical version of the Reserve Bank to monitor the developing research, the trials in other countries, to prepare for what is coming and work out how to fund it. It is urgent."
Prince further says the government should be investigating how to tap into the immunotherapy future, and how to reduce costs by increasing the scientific involvement in the area in this country.
Prince is no outlier. He has significant scientific credibility.
And he is not alone in this view.
I have now spoken to four leading doctors and researchers in Australia, and several in the United States.
They are agreed, there is massive change coming and urgent government action is needed.
Australia has a chance here to get in on the ground floor, which will help Australian patients and potentially make money.
It should not be forgotten that what is a challenge to the politicians and the public purse is driven by what is excellent news.
Many agree with Prince that immunotherapy is the "holy grail" of the fight against cancer.
Beyond CAR T other immunotherapies are being developed and may prove even more effective as cancer treatment.
But CAR T is already approved in Australia for some forms of leukaemia and lymphoma and working well.
It has also shown great promise in treatment of myeloma but was last year refused approval for use in that disease.
That means, people may die who need not die. That is the first issue to deal with and the urgent one.
Funding choices are needed and not every scientific advancement in every area will be financed. That means potentially decisions will be made on who lives, and who doesn't, and who suffers a great deal and who suffers less
About 2625 Australians are diagnosed with myeloma each year. Their average life expectancy is 13 months. But 97 per cent of patients respond to their new treatment, and recent modelling showed more than 800 fewer people would die each year if this was available.
But last year the government's Medical Service Advisory Committee rejected an application to fund the treatment for myeloma.
Why? It said there was "not good evidence of value for money".
The legendary sports broadcaster Sandy Roberts is a case in point. He was diagnosed with myeloma more than a year ago.
Current treatments are working, but his doctor, Professor Andrew Spencer, says his outlook would be significantly improved by immunotherapy and the sooner it was administered the better the outcome. But he is ineligible under government rules.
Sandy, as usual, is philosophical if a little puzzled: "It seems strange you have to relapse, and get sicker, before they can give you something that can help long term. "
Another area where immunotherapy shows potential is being explored at the world-leading Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne.
Research headed by Associate Professor Misty Jenkins shows CAR T cell therapy as extremely promising on rare brain tumours in children.
Once diagnosed with this tumour, children usually do not survive 12 months, says Jenkins.
"CAR T cells offer a possibility of a cure, with no long term side effects.
"The way these cells can completely eliminate the tumours and persist in the body into the future is what is so exciting about CAR T cell therapy and why immunotherapy is the future of precision medicine."
Immunotherapy may be a game changer but it is a very expensive game changer
It has received funding from the medical company Janssen Australia, an offshoot of Johnson and Johnson.
But the company had no involvement in the report and its independence is supported by an impressive array of scientific advisers.
It looks specifically at immunotherapy and the urgency of making it available in the treatment of myeloma, but also explains how that immunotherapy tsunami seems inevitable.
Recommendations include: extended subsidy for individual treatments, better training for medical staff, a coordinated national approach, and the establishment of an industry in Australia to produce CAR T cells.
It is part of the political DNA that when a problem arises multiple reports are commissioned and eventually considered.
With public money that is sensible and in this case essential. Immunotherapy may be a game changer but it is a very expensive game changer.
The health dollar is already stretched to snapping.
Many doctors outside the area argue that money may be better spent on medicines known to treat other devastating but non-cancerous forms of illness.
Funding choices are needed and not every scientific advancement in every area will be financed.
That means potentially decisions will be made on who lives, and who doesn't, and who suffers a great deal and who suffers less.
This inevitable tsunami of cancer cures must be faced. Doing nothing is not an option. We must prepare now.
Remember, this year, people are dying who need not die. Unless, of course, they are rich.
Neil Mitchell broadcasts on 3AW from 8.30am weekdays. His campaign around this issue continues there.
