Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is Lymphedema Awareness Day. Last week, I met with lymphedema advocate Monique Bareham, who has been leading the charge for better recognition and better care for this condition. Lymphedema is an accumulation of fluid, lymph, in the tissues of the body, usually concentrated in a specific area. It is fundamentally a failure of the lymphatic system to collect fluid and eliminate it. Many people develop lymphedema as a result of cancer treatment or through major trauma such as surgery or injury, but this is not the only cause. One in 6,000 people are born with conditions that result in primary lymphedema.

Excessive swelling caused by fluid accumulation is painful and disfiguring. Untreated, it can lead to skin oozing liquid, splitting, and infection. This leads to hospitalisations, expensive, time consuming and disruptive to people's lives. Often people suffer for years with no idea what is happening to them and no idea that there actually is treatment, and it's underrecognised in general practice. While lymphedema is not curable, it can be managed through exercise, massage and specially-made compression garments. These garments need to be fitted, however, so they're quite expensive. Monique's vision is to have a standard model of care across Australia and standard levels of financial support for the garments.

On Lymphedema Awareness Day, I'd like to bring this condition to the attention of my colleagues in this place, and thank Monique for her tireless advocacy.