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

I'd like to thank my friend the member for Bendigo for moving this motion. I'd also like to thank Gai Brodtmann, Nicolle Flint and Nola Marino for making this issue prominent in our parliament. I find in health that when we work in a bipartisan way we can often achieve many things, and I think we have. The funding as part of our 2022-23 budget that Greg Hunt has proposed, the $58 million, is really a terrific start.

This is a bit of a mea culpa for me. I've got six kids, and one of my daughters, Amelia, as it turned out, had quite severe endometriosis. But in a busy family of six kids with a father who is a doctor, it was very easy to ignore medical symptoms. I can't remember how many times I told her to be quiet, pack her bag, get in the car and we'd go to school, even though she was having severe abdominal pain. It wasn't until she left school, when she ended up actually in hospital, that the diagnosis of endometriosis was made.

Endometriosis occurs when the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, that's shed with every menstruation, occurs in unusual spots. It can occur in the fallopian tubes, which often causes infertility, and it can occur in the abdomen, which often causes involvement of the ovaries. It can cause severe abdominal pain and can be quite serious. To diagnose it, you must be aware of it. In the current days with Medicare premised on short consultations, it's sometimes difficult for doctors to diagnose endometriosis. But it remains a very common cause of infertility, a common case of days off work. Unless it is recognised, the treatment is very ineffective.

My daughter Amelia actually sorted it out herself and found a doctor who actually listened to her—unlike her father—and she was diagnosed with endometriosis. She did have some quite long-term symptoms and did have infertility for a number of years, and it wasn't until she had some surgery that she was able to have two absolutely gorgeous kids, Frankie and Mia. I'm very proud of her and proud of the journey that she's been on.

I really do feel for women in this situation over undiagnosed endometriosis. It really is a hidden disease. That's why this month is so important, not just because we're standing up as a parliament and saying, 'We hear you,' but because we're standing up as a parliament and saying: 'We will educate you and the community about this. We will provide help for you, and we understand what you've been going through.'

It's a very common disease. About one in nine women suffer from endometriosis, and, as I've said, it is a common cause of infertility and other health issues. The former Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, really started the ball rolling—I've got to give him credit as well—and now as part of our 2022-23 budget we're continuing that investment, including things like a Medicare funded MRI scan to help with the diagnosis because it's often intra-abdominal or intra-uterine, so it can be hard to diagnose. You need to think of it and assess it quickly so that treatment can be done before damage is caused.

The time has come that those suffering from endometriosis should not continue to suffer with the feeling that no-one is listening to them. We must do more to raise awareness of endometriosis and provide treatment that, in many ways, can save a lot of money by reducing dependence on IVF et cetera. We need to change the way our health system assesses women and women's health issues, because that is another issue. It's very easy for us to forget that women's health issues have been neglected for a long time. We need to make sure that endometriosis is part of the consideration for a doctor whenever they see a woman with problems with periods, recurrent abdominal pain, infertility, abdominal distention et cetera. That is really important. We must treat it properly, but we have to diagnose it first before we treat it.

I thank the Minister for Health and Aged Care and all of those involved, the so-called 'endo warriors', for the work that they've done. It is really, really important, for a large section of our population, to get proper treatment, early diagnosis and much, much better outcomes. Endometriosis Awareness Month is important, and it's imperative that each month we make better progress in understanding this disease to better support patients going forward.

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