Karenne Mosley, a 70-year-old former registered nurse from Queensland's Sunshine Coast, received a distressing diagnosis of aggressive uterine cancer in March. Initially assured that the cancer had not spread, she was referred for category one surgery, which is classified as having the highest clinical urgency and should be performed within 30 days. However, Mosley waited over three months for the operation, which was never conducted.

"I'm going to die, and probably within 12 months," Mosley said.

Her surgery was scheduled for April 23 at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital but was canceled the day before to accommodate an urgent colonoscopy on May 19. After ruling out complications from the colonoscopy, her surgery was rescheduled for June 18. Unfortunately, a scan on June 17 revealed that the tumor had doubled in size and was now inoperable.

Since her initial visit to the GP in February, Mosley had been placed on multiple category one waiting lists. "It should have been one category one list. [They shouldn't have] kept on moving me around to the next one and the next one," she said. "They might have seen me within 30 days for each list, but ultimately the whole time was something like 105 till they said it was inoperable."

Mosley was presented with two options: chemotherapy to shrink the cancer or palliative care. She chose palliative care, stating, "The chemo people said it's less than one-in-three chance [of] the chemo working. I decided that I'd rather have quality of life than quantity of life, so I refused the chemo."

She expressed frustration over the delays, saying, "I was extremely angry at them for leaving [the cancer] for so long because initially it was operable. They let it grow."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Metro North Health, which oversees the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, expressed sympathy for Mosley and her family. They stated, "Every effort is made to ensure care is delivered in a way that balances clinical safety with patient preferences. The hospital is working closely with the patient and their family to address all concerns and provide clear explanations of treatment decisions."

However, Mosley reported that she had not received any communication from the hospital or Metro North Health since June.

Mosley's experience highlights the increasing pressure on Australia's public health system, according to the Australian Medical Association (AMA). "It's really critical that we remember that we're delivering health care," said AMA President Danielle McMullen. "There's a person at the end of every episode of care."

Despite most cancer surgeries being urgent, they are classified as elective. The AMA's annual hospital report card indicates worsening elective surgery waitlists and outpatient clinic wait times across the country. "The logjam in our public hospital system is not a new problem," Dr. McMullen noted, adding that the issue predates the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2025 Hospital Report Card revealed that only 55 percent of patients completed their emergency presentations in less than four hours. Additionally, the percentage of category two patients receiving timely elective surgeries has dropped by 15 percent over the past decade to 71 percent. Dr. McMullen attributed treatment delays to a shortage of hospital beds and an aging population.

Another cancer patient, Tom Van Der Zee, shared his struggles with the hospital system. After being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in December, he was registered for category two surgery at Melbourne's Austin Hospital on February 12, 2025. On the day of his scheduled surgery, he was informed that it had been canceled due to a lack of available beds.

"I was devastated," Van Der Zee said. "The fact that you've been diagnosed and nothing is happening brings up the whole thing of like, it's spreading right throughout my body."

He filed a complaint with the hospital's Patient Experience Unit and received an apology explaining that the cancellation was due to unprecedented demand for hospital beds. His surgery was rescheduled for June 10.

A spokesperson for Austin Health stated that surgery cancellations on the day of admission occur only in exceptional circumstances. Dr. McMullen emphasized the need for the hospital system to adapt to rising demand, stating, "It's really unacceptable that we've got Australians waiting longer than clinically recommended for their surgeries or other treatments in our public hospital systems."

She called for increased funding and infrastructure support for public hospitals, highlighting the need for a new National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA) to ensure adequate funding for health services. A federal government spokesperson stated that the Commonwealth is committed to contributing fairly under the NHRA to improve access to health services and reduce hospital pressure. They noted an increase in hospital funding offers to nearly $20 billion.