Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion. As a doctor in this chamber, I feel it is important to constantly raise awareness of one of the more forgotten areas of health, and that is prostate cancer. There are very few families in this country that haven't been affected by prostate cancer, and we now know that early diagnosis and treatment is vital if our survival rates are going to improve. There are much better treatments now. There are much better ways of diagnosing prostate cancer. We now know that many men who previously had advanced prostate cancer could have been saved by early screening, and with better diagnosis and better treatment.

There are currently 120,000 men living with prostate cancer in Australia who have been diagnosed, and I say that because there are many men who have prostate cancer that will never actually be diagnosed. In 2019 alone, 3,300 men have died from the disease. Studies have shown that men who are most at risk of developing prostate cancer are those who are over 50 and have a positive family history of the disease. Symptoms include difficulty passing urine, incontinence, lower back pain, pelvic pain or other bone pain. But sometimes prostate cancer can be asymptomatic until very late. While the reality of prostate cancer is harsh, I must emphasise that, with appropriate medical technology, readily available to us today, the recovery rate for prostate cancer is very good, especially if the cancer is caught early. The five-year survival rate for prostate cancer is now over 90 per cent. However, the rate at which older men actually get tested and seek cancer screening requires a lot of work. There are risk factors that we know about, such as cigarette smoking. We know that there are genetic risk factors. We also know that, with appropriate screening and management, long-term survival could be better still.

A leader in this space is Mr David Dyke, a prostate cancer survivor, who has documented his journey of diagnosis, treatment and recovery very well. He has a very popular YouTube video of his diagnosis et cetera. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer after regular PSA screening. He showed no symptoms. What I found very interesting and valuable about Mr Dyke's journey is that he didn't shy away from sharing with the general public about the rehabilitation process, and I commend him for this. It's not always easy for us men to share the really tough parts of our lives, and it's too often that we shy away from men's issues, particularly men's health issues. David demonstrated the importance of men taking their health seriously, and he continues to do so in his advocacy. I'd encourage all members of this chamber to watch and share Mr Dyke's YouTube documentary titled David Dyke Prostate Journey: From Diagnosis to Rehabilitation.

It's important that we actively combat the attitude that many men maintain in being blase about their health. We need to encourage men to be proactive with PSA screenings, at both an individual and a government level. PSA screening is just that—it's a screening test—and the interpretation of that test needs to be appropriately nuanced. I encourage all men who are concerned about having PSA screening to discuss this with their general practitioner. It is a nuanced thing and it often depends on repeat testing over a period of time, with appreciation for the other risk factors, including genetics. PSA testing is not the be-all and end-all of prostate cancer screening but it is part of the equation, and men need to discuss it with their general practitioner or with their urologist.

We need to continue the trend towards regular testing and proper follow-up of people with possible prostate cancer. There is better technology now, with MRI prostate screening, and I would encourage the government to allow Medicare listing for MRI prostate screening as an important advancement in the further management and assessment of men with prostate cancer. A prostate-specific antigen test is used with screening, as well as digital rectal examinations, ultrasounds and MRIs. I encourage all men over the age of 50 to be regularly screened.

This month is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. I encourage all men to participate by raising awareness. I am very grateful for the opportunity to talk on this matter in the House. It's a great thing that we can screen and that survival rates are getting much better.

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