Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Shortland for bringing Red Aussie Apple Day to the attention of the house. It is very appropriate for me as a representative of Tasmania, which is also known as the Apple Isle, to support this motion—especially if, indeed, an apple a day keeps the doctor away and also creates some Tasmanian jobs. It is good roughage.

As has been mentioned, Australia has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world. Bowel cancer is the second most common type of newly diagnosed cancer in Australia. Around 14,410 Australians every year are told they have bowel cancer. Bowel cancer is Australia's second largest cancer killer after lung cancer, claiming the lives of around 3,982 people every year.

The good news is that bowel cancer is one of the most curable types of cancer if detected early. However, fewer than 40 per cent of bowel cancer is detected early. If bowel cancer is detected before it can spread beyond the bowel, the chance of surviving for at least five years after diagnoses is around 90 per cent and most people are able to return to their current lifestyles. However, most cases are detected at a later stage and so overall close to 60 per cent of people diagnosed with the disease for five years. Early detection offers the best hope of reducing the number of Australians who die each year from bowel cancer.

Based on current trends, one in 12 Australians will develop bowel cancer before the age of 85. Both men and women are at risk of developing bowel cancer, so we need to ensure that those who are vulnerable get checked. Therefore, the $49.9 million boost to the national bowel screen program is most welcome. The risk is greater if you are aged 50 years or older, if you have an inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or ulcers in that area, if you have previously had special types of polyps in the bowel or if you have a significant family history of bowel cancer polyps. You have a significant family history of bowel cancer if a close relative—parent, brother, sister or child—develops bowel cancer under 55 years of age or if more than one relative on the same side of your family has had bowel cancer.

It is a very common disease and anyone can contract bowel cancer. Well-known people who have contracted bowel cancer include Cory Aquino, the former President of the Philippines; Pope John Paul II; Ronald Reagan; Harold Wilson, the former Labour Prime Minister in the UK; Robin Gibb, the member of the Bee Gees pop group; Eartha Kitt; and the Queen Mum—to name but a few. For some it was fatal. Some survived quite well because it was detected quite early. Some people are more prone than others, especially if they are over 50, there are some incidents in one family or they have experienced some other form of cancer. But providing it is caught early it does not necessarily have to be fatal, although sometimes it is hard to detect.

As a nation, we can reduce the risk of bowel cancer by eating a healthy data, including plenty of vegetables and fruit like apples and only a small amount of animal fat. We should eat moderate amounts of lean red meat as part of a mixed diet the includes carbohydrates, bread, cereals, vegetables, fruit and dairy products. Eating sensibly, maintaining a healthy body weight, exercising regularly, not smoking and not drinking too much alcohol are the sorts of things that can help us get through without contracting bowel cancer. We need to promote this. Governments need to promote this through their health policies. I am sure that we can help maintain checks to ensure that these risks are kept as low as possible, especially through proper screening programs.

Debate adjourned.

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