Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Last Saturday, families affected by this terrible disease marked Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. The women and men who live with advanced breast cancer travel a very different journey to those with an early diagnosis and the hope of a cancer-free future. I met a few of these women last week when I spent Pink Lady Day in Victor Harbour with the wonderful members of the Fleurieu Cancer Foundation's Breast of Friends group. Their stories are heartbreaking, but the support they give each other is truly inspirational. Magic happens when women put their arms around each other. Sharon has been living with breast cancer for decades, and spoke of how a chance meeting in a cafe and a hug from a friend brought her back to the Breast of Friends group just a few years ago.

Unfortunately, this year breast cancer has overtaken prostate cancer as the most diagnosed cancer in Australia, with more than 18,000 Australian women diagnosed every year. It is a sad statistic to reflect on. While it's encouraging that incidences of prostate cancer have declined in recent years, I look forward to a time when advances in medical care lead to significant declines in all cancers, and particularly breast cancer. We need a cure for breast cancer, and I commend all women and men for their courage going through that journey.