Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in this matters of public interest debate to inform the chamber of two recent events. The first that I will speak about concerns Parkinson’s Disease. As Convenor of Parliamentary Friends of Parkinson’s I had the pleasure, along with the Deputy Convenor, the member for Gilmore, Mrs Joanna Gash, of conducting earlier this year the Living with Young-Onset Parkinson’s Morning Tea, in conjunction with Parkinson’s Australia. I would like to place on record our thanks to all of the parliamentarians who supported the morning tea and especially to the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, the Hon. Mark Butler, who attended in an official capacity on behalf of the Rudd Labor government.

The purpose of the morning tea was for three brave young Parkinson’s sufferers to share their stories and experiences with parliamentarians and other invited guests to help raise awareness of young-onset Parkinson’s disease. It was also an opportunity for these young-onset Parkinson’s disease ambassadors to present the federal government with a report about the issues and the impacts of living with young-onset Parkinson’s disease, but I will touch further on this report later in my contribution.

It is a common misconception in society that Parkinson’s disease affects only older people. However, increasingly, younger Australians are being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In fact, Access Economics tells us that approximately 18 per cent of people living with Parkinson’s disease are of working age, which is about 10,000 people Australia-wide. It can also be said that one in 40 people with Parkinson’s disease will be aged under 40 at diagnosis. People diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease suffer from different degrees of the disease’s debilitating physical and emotional effects. Access Economics also identifies that about one-quarter to one-third of those people diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease will have moderate to high needs now and the remainder will develop high needs over time, probably at a younger age.

As I mentioned earlier, young-onset Parkinson’s disease is often overlooked. The community often stereotype a Parkinson’s sufferer as someone who is old, but statistics show this is not the case. So, as part of the Young-Onset Parkinson’s Disease Morning Tea, Parkinson’s Australia brought three young Australians to Canberra to speak about what it is like to live with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. The morning tea was an excellent forum for the Parkinson’s young ambassadors to share their experiences and tell the gathered parliamentarians and guests of what it is like to suffer from the disease.

I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to the three Parkinson’s young ambassadors: Nerissa Mapes, young ambassador for Parkinson’s Australia; Richelle Fowler, young ambassador for Parkinson’s South Australia; and Paula Argy, young ambassador for Parkinson’s New South Wales. I would like to inform the chamber of the stories of these three brave young ambassadors. Firstly I would like to talk about Nerissa. Nerissa was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 28, in September 2006, after suffering from declining motor skills and slowness of movement. Parkinson’s disease means that Nerissa has difficulty with everyday tasks such as dressing and using a knife and fork. Since her diagnosis, Nerrisa has actively been fundraising for Parkinson’s disease, through her foundation Perspectives on Parkinson’s, or POP. To date, POP has raised more than $60,000. Nerissa has also taken an active role in the media, including appearances on The 7.30 Report, 9am with David and Kim, The Morning Show, and numerous radio programs. Her story has also appeared in New Idea and Woman’s Day to raise the profile of young sufferers of Parkinson’s disease.

Secondly we have Richelle’s story is one of a very extreme case. At the age of just 17, she developed a tremor whilst at school and she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Richelle lives in South Australia with her husband, and she remains positive in her fight against Parkinson’s disease, vowing not to let Parkinson’s disease beat her. She is active in her role as young ambassador of Parkinson’s South Australia.

Finally I want to talk about Paula. Paula first noticed symptoms at the age of 23; however, she was not diagnosed until she was 27 years old. Paula is now a full-time mother of two young children whilst also volunteering at the offices of Parkinson’s New South Wales. Parkinson’s New South Wales nominated Paula to be their ambassador for their major fundraising activity for the year, Australia’s Unity Walk for Parkinson’s. As ambassador for the Unity Walk for Parkinson’s, Paula was interviewed for newspapers, radio programs and television to tell her story and heighten the awareness of young-onset Parkinson’s disease. Paula and her children have been very active in fundraising for Parkinson’s New South Wales, through selling raffle tickets and through sponsorships, raising over $7,200. Every day, Paula and her children are faced with the struggle of Parkinson’s disease. It is tough, but they work together, confront Parkinson’s disease head-on and live life to the full.

I want to again acknowledge the bravery of these three young women who took the time and had the courage to speak of their experiences of living with young-onset Parkinson’s disease, to share their lives and to put themselves out into the public arena. They are all committed and work hard to raise awareness of young-onset Parkinson’s disease, which is often overlooked when the community think of Parkinson’s disease. The presence of these three fantastic young women at the morning tea was organised by Parkinson’s Australia CEO, Mr Norman Marshall and the Parliamentary Friends of Parkinson’s. I have had a productive association with Norman, through my role as Convenor of Parliamentary Friends of Parkinson’s, and I would again like to place on the record today my thanks and appreciation for all the hard work and support Norman provides to raise the profile of Parkinson’s sufferers. Norman is a tireless advocate for sufferers of Parkinson’s disease and works passionately to raise the profile of Parkinson’s disease.

Norman and I, along with the Deputy Convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of Parkinson’s, the member for Gilmore, Mrs Joanna Gash, who was previously the convenor, have held a number of Parkinson’s events around Parliament House over the years. I am happy to report that the morning tea with the young-onset Parkinson’s sufferers was very successful. We had an excellent turnout for the event, with many parliamentarians and community representatives attending to hear the touching stories of these three young women who suffer from Parkinson’s disease. The three women featured in a number of media stories, presenting them with another platform to raise awareness of young-onset Parkinson’s disease.

The young-onset Parkinson’s ambassadors also used the occasion to present to the federal government a report conducted on behalf of Parkinson’s Australia by Dr Chris Fyffe and Jeffrey McCubbery entitled Living with young onset Parkinson’s disease: the issues and impact of young onset Parkinson’s disease in Australia. That report states:

For the first time in Australia, people with young onset Parkinson’s disease and their family members were asked to identify the issues and impacts arising from living with this condition and to make comment about the availability and appropriateness of current services and supports.

The report also identifies, similar to the stories told by Nerissa, Richelle and Paula, the impacts of living with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. It highlights major disruptions to the young-onset sufferer’s personal, work and family life. These effects are far-reaching—from debilitating physical effects to emotional cognitive effects. The report recommended the establishment of a national young-onset Parkinson’s centre to provide peer support, service development and research about supporting young-onset sufferers’ lifestyles, as well as coordination with Parkinson’s associations, because they are well-placed to foster network development and partake in information exchange so that specific responses to issues can be developed. I would finally like to place on record my thanks to the Hon. Mark Butler, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, who was able to be with us to hear the stories from the young-onset Parkinson’s ambassadors and receive the report on behalf of the Rudd Labor government.

I would also like to take this opportunity in my contribution today to highlight another important community issue—that is, Go Red for Women, the Heart Foundation’s campaign to unite women in the fight against heart disease. The Go Red for Women campaign is helping to raise awareness of their risk and promote healthier choices. It is a common misconception that breast cancer is the biggest killer of Australian women. In fact, heart disease kills four times as many women as breast cancer does. This is over 11,000 women per year, and is nearly as many men who die from heart disease. In fact, heart disease is responsible for almost 16 per cent of all deaths in Australian women.

There are a number of reasons heart disease accounts for such a high rate of deaths in Australian women. Firstly, the percentage of Australian women who suffer from heart disease risk factors is quite high. The ABS tells us that 16 per cent of women aged 18 years and over are daily smokers, 15 per cent of women aged 25 years and over have high blood pressure, 10 per cent of women aged 35 years and over have high blood cholesterol, 55 per cent of women aged 18 years and over are overweight—that is, they have a body mass index, BMI, of 25 or more—and 24 per cent of women aged 18 years and over are obese, with a BMI of 30 or more.

Secondly, female attitudes and beliefs need to be targeted to better educate women on the dangers of heart disease. The Heart Foundation HeartWatch consumer survey identified some concerning revelations: 39 per cent of women aged 45 to 54 believe that breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women. Whilst women identified lifestyle risk factors such as poor diet and lack of exercise, many failed to identify clinical risks such as high blood pressure and diabetes. And nearly one in five women thought it was difficult to find accurate and easy to understand information about heart disease and women. This concerning statistic goes to the heart of the Go Red for Women campaign. In June 2010 the Heart Foundation is aiming to increase awareness of the risk of heart disease to women and provide information about how Australian women can improve their heart health.

At the last parliamentary sitting, I was able to hear firsthand about the Go Red For Women campaign when I had the opportunity to attend the parliamentary event. It was a very informative and well-attended event with politicians gathering to lend their support to the Go Red for Women campaign. At the Go Red for Women campaign event in Canberra, a landmark report was also launched by the Minister for Health, the Hon. Nicola Roxon, and the Heart Foundation entitled Women and heart disease. The report focuses on the impact of heart disease on Australian women and presents data on a number of issues, including prevalence, deaths, hospitalisations, treatments, risk factors and health expenditure.

The Go Red for Women campaign has also announced that Jane Stephens will be the Tasmanian Go Red for Women ambassador. Jane has been surrounded by heart disease all her life. I congratulate Jane on her appointment and look forward to her work in my home state and raising awareness of the dangers of heart disease.

The Go Red for Women event was able to open my eyes to just how quickly without warning heart disease can strike. I was able to learn of the story of Juleen Cavanaugh, who, although she had a family history of vascular disease, heart attacks and strokes had kept her cholesterol on the low side. In November last year, Juleen saw her GP for a routine check-up, the day before her heart attack. Everything was fine and Juleen had no idea anything was wrong. At dinner that evening, Juleen experienced severe discomfort in her chest as well as pains down her arms. Within a few short hours, Juleen was in surgery having a stent inserted. Juleen was lucky to have people around her who recognised the symptoms and acted quickly. She also had an expert team of cardiologists and nurses to perform her surgery and assist in her rehabilitation. Juleen is now reducing her stress levels, losing weight and getting a lot more exercise. She said, ‘Surviving this event has given me a second chance.’ This story highlighted how quickly and unexpectedly a heart attack can occur. I hope that the Go Red for Women campaign will play a role in educating women about heart disease so that stories like Juleen’s can have a positive outcome.

The Go Red For Women campaign was not solely restricted to Canberra; events were held across the country. In Hobart, my colleague the federal member for Franklin, Ms Julie Collins MP, had the opportunity to speak at the Go Red for Women campaign breakfast. Ms Collins outlined to the breakfast a number of the Rudd Labor government’s key health initiatives, including our focus on preventative health measures by increasing the cigarette tax and the introduction of plain packaging on cigarette packets—both designed to encourage people to quit smoking.

I encourage all women to take the time to educate themselves about the risk factors associated with heart disease, lead a healthy and active lifestyle, get regular checks from their local GP and, importantly, get involved in the Go Red for Women campaign. Check out their website. Go to www.heartfoundation.org.au and get involved.