Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the importance of bowel cancer this evening and the importance of bowel-cancer screening. It was almost three years ago that I met with Professor James St John to discuss his work at Cancer Council Australia and the impact bowel cancer has on the community and the health system.

It was at this time that I learnt that bowel cancer is one of the most frequently occurring cancers in Australia and the second-biggest cancer killer after lung cancer. At the time, this government had still not confirmed funding for the screening program beyond December 2010. The program had three eligible age groups: 50, 55 and 60. However, the recommendation to have two-year testing for everybody over 50 was not one that the government had agreed to. I decided it was important to take up the cause, to campaign to ensure funding would be continuing and to extend the screening program so that it could be at its most effective.

Today bowel cancer is still the second-most diagnosed cancer in Australia and the second-largest killer after lung cancer. There are almost 14½ thousand new cases of bowel cancer detected every year, claiming almost 4,000 lives annually because, unfortunately, fewer than 40 per cent of cases are detected early. However, it does not have to be that way. Bowel cancer is one of the most curable cancers if caught at an early stage. In fact, if detected prior to its spreading beyond the bowel, there is a 90 per cent survival rate beyond five years of detection. That is why bowel cancer screening is so critical and why it is so important for everyone to have access to. It is critical that we break the taboo that prevents some people from undertaking screening in the first place.

In my electorate of Higgins, I feel very privileged to have one of the most prestigious and respected cancer centres in Australia, at Cabrini Hospital. Many may be unaware, but Cabrini Hospital treats more people with cancer than the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, another great institution in Victoria with a highly deserved national reputation. I would specifically like to recognise the work of Associate Professor Paul McMurrick and his team and commend their tireless efforts in preventing, curing and raising awareness of this insidious disease. It was during my visit to Cabrini in 2011 that I was informed of the additional economic benefits of bowel cancer screening. A full population based screening program costs around $140 million per year. The removal of a precancerous polyp is estimated at $1,600, whereas full cancer treatment for the bowel is estimated to cost over $70,000 per patient. That is just looking at the economics, leaving aside, obviously, the personal impact on people and their families. So the more cases we can detect at the polyp stage, the more money the system will save over time.

Another critical component of cancer prevention is, of course, medical research. That is why it is so disappointing that the government has cut medical health and research and university funding through direct cuts and also through tricky accounting such as paying grants to the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council in arrears rather than upfront, despite laboratories requiring capital upfront in order to operate effectively. The total cuts are now in the order of $3 billion. Although I very warmly welcome funding for the screening process, it should not come at the expense of other forms of prevention and research.

More can be done in the field of cancer research and prevention, but it will require commitment from government and it will also require private sector investment. I was very proud when the Leader of the Opposition announced that the coalition would quarantine medical health and research funding from any further cuts in upcoming budgets. This is a commitment that, notably, the Labor government has not matched. Three years ago, I said:

It is my view that the Gillard Government should introduce a permanent public screening program and they should not delay.

Today, I am happy that the government listened to my requests and acted, in part, upon them.

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