Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As many know, International Women's Day is on Sunday. Typically we spend the day celebrating women's achievements. However, this year I would like to talk about something that impacts about one in seven Australian women: breast cancer. Recently I met with Michael Harris who told me about his wife—who I had known for many years—Katrina. In 2011, Katrina was diagnosed with the most common form of breast cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma or IDC.

When we talk about breast cancer, IDC is what we think of. We think of the TV ads and the GP posters that tell women to feel for lumps. That is exactly what Katrina did, and that was exactly how she was diagnosed. Thankfully she caught it quickly, and she was given the all clear a year later. Six years on and tens of scans later, Katrina's oncologist found more cancer. This time was different. She was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma, or ILC, the second-most common form of breast cancer, which makes up approximately 15 per cent of all diagnoses.

However, unlike IDC, ILC does not form lumps. Its growth mimics normal breast tissue, meaning that it remains hidden from mammograms, particularly in women who have higher C and D breast density. Sadly this means that a lot of women, Katrina included, find out about their cancer once it has already taken hold. For Katrina, 75 per cent of her breasts were cancerous by the time it was discovered. Silently the cancer was spreading across her body, only to be discovered once it had started doing serious damage. This could have been caught earlier. Katrina and women like her with high-density breasts could be made aware that a mammogram would more than likely not pick up ILC and that they would need to get an MRI.

After a double mastectomy and multiple rounds of chemo and radiation, the cancer seemed beaten, yet time passed and it reappeared. This time it was found in her head, stomach, bowels, liver, bones and limbs. The cancer had silently spread all around her body. It became too much for Katrina and sadly she passed away late last year. Even in her final days, Katrina continued to advocate for IDC awareness. She engaged with cancer support groups both domestically and abroad to share her story and to talk about the limited diagnostic support for women with high-density breasts. It is the determination of Katrina and Michael that has led me to talk about this serious matter.

This International Women's Day, I'm calling on the government to honour her memory and provide MRIs for women with C and D category breast density. I'm also calling for GPs and those who perform a mammogram to more strongly inform every person they test that it may not pick up all cancers and that an MRI is the most effective scanning process for those with category C and D density breasts. Doing so will allow for early intervention, which will in turn save lives.