Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The month of July has been Sarcoma Awareness Month. Sarcoma is a type of rare cancer of the bone and soft tissue. It is unique because sarcoma can form anywhere in the body. It is unfortunately particularly common in children and young adults. Each year hundreds will be diagnosed with a type of sarcoma and will go through a challenging experience, often a long and hard journey through gruelling cycles of treatment. I and the entire Labor family know a little bit more about sarcoma because of our dear friend and former Young Labor president Julijana Todorovic. Anyone who knows JJ knows that, with the strength that she fights her political battles, it's hardly surprising that she fought sarcoma into remission.

Sarcoma Awareness Month is designed to raise the profile of sarcoma and to bring desperately needed attention to this disease—attention that will help efforts to generate increased research and new treatments. The five-year survival rate is, on average, 70 per cent, but it can be less for different types of sarcomas. The Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association is the peak body for the sarcoma community and aims to improve outcomes for sarcoma patients through research, education and awareness of sarcoma and related tumours. For more information, head to their website sarcoma.org.au and join me in going yellow for sarcoma awareness.

I thank Senator Ciccone in the other place for also calling for greater awareness, and I thank the member for Corio for providing this particularly striking tie to help create awareness about this important issue.