Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. What is the government doing to support breast cancer initiatives?

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Capricornia for her question. It gives me an opportunity on Breast Cancer Day to add to the comments that the Prime Minister opened question time with and to give a little more detail and information about the support that the government has been providing to women to ensure that breast cancer can be diagnosed early. And of course the Prime Minister took the House through the importance of these initiatives given the prevalence of breast cancer across the country.

What I think is important for us to recognise and take stock of on a day like today is that Australia actually has a very strong track record in managing breast cancer. The report released today by the Institute of Health and Welfare and the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre found that we have been making steady progress. I think that the Prime Minister might have mentioned one of the figures from this report. I think it is pretty impressive—and all members of this House can be proud of this effort by our researchers, scientists, health professionals and others—that between 1994 and 2006 the death rate from breast cancer fell by 27 per cent and the percentage of women living longer is also improving. We also now have a five-year survival rate of 87.8 per cent compared to 71.8 per cent in the mid-1980s. So, although this disease is very prevalent and still exacting a terrible toll on the community, we are winning in our challenge to reduce its impact and extend people’s lives.

The results are, I think, testament to the importance of the BreastScreen program, which receives more than $134 million annually from the Commonwealth and the state and territory governments. A recent expert report found that BreastScreen is one of the best cancer-screening programs in the world—not just in Australia. And it is not just something from one government. As Australians, we can be proud of having one of the best cancer-screening programs in the world.

But it is important on a day like today to remind Australians, particularly Australian women who are in the target age group of 50 to 69, that they need to remember to get a mammogram every two years. We still do not have a majority of women in that age group taking advantage of that program. It is there and available for Australian women and we know we can improve outcomes if there is early detection of this disease.

We are also providing our core funding of more than $13 million for the good work of the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre and we have invested more than $27 million through the NHMRC for grants connected with breast cancer research. Importantly, we are also supporting some special initiatives and programs of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre and the Breast Cancer Network, including for the first time $2.5 million to involve over 100,000 women in the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s community survey. This is going to give us a population-wide set of data and information, which we have never had before. It is something that I think will improve those figures even more in future years. Another $800,000 is going to the centre for programs to improve early detection and management of breast cancer in younger women, in Indigenous women and in men, who we know can also suffer from breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Network Australia will also receive just over $1 million to continue the production, promotion and dissemination of breast cancer resource kits. I know many people in this House have provided to their constituents and used themselves the My Journey kit and the Hope & Hurdles pack, something that has been very helpful for women when they go through the phases that the Prime Minister mentioned—the shock of diagnosis, coping with the treatment and, of course, recovery. So I would like to commend and congratulate the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the Breast Cancer Network for their continued excellence and service to the community.

There is still much more work to be done, but with these sorts of initiatives added to the many that the Prime Minister mentioned, like the support for McGrath Foundation nurses, funding for external prostheses, the regional cancer centres and the digital mammography equipment that was funded in this year’s budget, we can improve those statistics even further. So I encourage all members of this House and all Australians to continue to support this fight. I also again encourage women to remain aware of the risks for women in the key age group of 50 to 69 and to not put off getting a mammogram; it could save your life.