Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to honour an extraordinary member of our community, Dr Teng-Kiong Kek, who passed away peacefully on 10 January this year. His loss is felt deeply across Mount Druitt and well beyond. Born in Malaysia in 1954, Dr Kek came to Australia in the mid seventies as a young man with a single aim to study medicine and serve others. While completing his medical degree, he was diagnosed with kidney failure. Yet, in the face of that, his resolve never faltered. Remarkably, he sat his final medical exams and then went straight into a kidney transplant. That determination would define the rest of his life.

In the eighties, he moved to Western Sydney and worked as a resident at Blacktown Hospital. Not long after that he joined Mount Druitt Medical Centre as a medical practitioner, where he dedicated nearly five decades of his life, right up to September last year. Like many devoted GPs in our community, Dr Kek could have easily earned far more in other parts of Sydney, but he was determined to remain in Mount Druitt because he believed deeply in serving the people who needed him most and the community that he loved.

Dr Kek embodied the very best of traditional general practice. He was often the first to arrive at the centre and the last to leave, and he cared for generations of families. Many of his patients grew up with him as their doctor from birth through to parenthood. His compassion left an indelible mark on our community and will be a lasting inspiration for future generations of doctors. To his family and loved ones, I offer heartfelt condolences. He will be greatly missed but never ever forgotten.

It is stunning to consider that each week we lose a woman under 40 to breast cancer. In the face of this confronting condition, women deserve care that lifts burdens, not adds to them. Last week I met Karen at my mobile office in Marayong. She spoke with such honesty about living with breast cancer, the emotional and physical strength it takes each day and the constant worry of how to manage the cost of care. Many women undergoing essential endocrine therapy for breast cancer face significant out-of-pocket costs for bone density scans, or DXA scans, that help detect dangerous treatment-related bone loss. Medicare rebates for DXA scans apply only from the age of 70, despite the average age of breast cancer diagnosis being 61. Expanding bulk-billing for DXA scans would not only protect women's health but also prevent future hospitalisation, surgery and suffering. As Karen said to me, preventive care offers a clear return on investment, both for the healthcare system financially and for the quality of life of patients.

I've written to the Minister for Health and Ageing to share Karen's story, and I look forward to working with him and continuing to advance Australia's world-class healthcare system. I say to Karen and others that I can't guarantee the outcome, but I guarantee the effort on this fight.

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