Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the incidence of skin cancer in Australia is the highest in the world and is two to three times that seen in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom; and

(b) that skin cancers account for around 80 per cent of all newly diagnosed cancers in Australia;

(2) supports policies that focus on early detection which will in turn significantly reduce the number of Australian lives lost to skin cancer every year;

(3) notes the importance of training for general practitioners to ensure that family doctors are able to recognise, diagnose and treat the various forms of precursors or early stages of skin cancer; and

(4) acknowledges the work of anti-cancer community organisations, the medical fraternity and the pharmaceutical industry in increasing awareness of skin cancer and risk prevention strategies, promoting the importance of regular skin checks and facilitating affordable access to skin checks and early stage treatments.

And I acknowledge the heartfelt contribution of the member for Grey on the matter just before the House.

I rise to speak on this motion because of its profound significance to so many Australians. Skin cancer is a life-threatening condition that impacts heavily on the lives of many Australians, and I am pleased that the House has tonight devoted some time to this debate. Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. Australians are four times as likely to develop a skin cancer as any other form of cancer. Two in three Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70. This is an incredibly sobering statistical picture.

There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma—the non-melanoma skin cancers—and melanoma. This area of medicine has a huge impact on the Australian community. In 2010 alone, the total number of deaths from melanoma in Australia was 1,452. In 2010 there were 445 reported deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer. This is a tragic picture, with greater impact on loss of life than the road toll. In 2009 there were 11½ thousand new cases of melanoma. Overall, numbers of skin cancers are increasing as our population ages. There are approximately 450,000 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer each year, costing over half a billion dollars to treat. This makes it the most expensive cancer in Australia to manage. Because non-melanoma skin cancer is not a reportable condition, these costs may well be significantly understated compared with the reality of cases diagnosed and treated annually.

It is predicted in research published in November 2012 in the Medical Journal of Australia that the yearly cost of treating Australia's most prevalent cancer will increase to more than $700 million annually within three years. In the research, Medicare data for non-melanoma skin cancer between 1997 and 2012, including basal and squamous cell carcinomas, were examined. The total number of treatments increased by more than 410,000 in 1997 to almost 768,000 in the year 2000, and it was estimated that the number of cases would increase to 939,000 by 2015.

Expenses relating to the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers, including diagnosis, treatment and pathology, increased from $264 million in 2001 to over half a billion dollars—$511 million—in 2010. It was forecast that this cost would exceed $700 million annually in three years. Public hospitals are struggling to keep up with demand.

The Standing Committee on Health and Ageing recently released a report on suicide that showed that 2,000 Australian lives are, sadly, lost in this manner each year. Indeed, the road toll is of similar proportions. As a community, we are devastated by these statistics and compelled to act. But for skin cancer, where the figures are in the same league, with approximately 1,500 people dying from melanoma and approximately 500 from non-melanoma skin cancers each year, our actions and call to address this issue are less clear and less resonant in the broader community.

More than a million general practice consultations are directly related to skin cancer management, and skin cancer accounts for approximately 80 per cent of all those cancers diagnosed in Australia. We do have an opportunity to cease being the skin cancer capital of the world. Early detection and treatment will save lives. It will also reduce the rapidly increasing cost of the management of the condition and its burden on Australia's health budget and on the many families left to contend with this cancer. With the development of skin awareness and the conducting of regular skin checks comes the opportunity to achieve an early diagnosis. Where early stages of cancer are detected, access to the simple treatments can be afforded, with an excellent chance of a cure. As with most cancers, the best prognosis is achieved before progression to the more problematic stages of malignancies. These are both harder and more costly to treat.

There are some specific steps that can be taken to reduce the frightening toll and the cost of this disease. I urge people to consider these steps. First, if people became more aware of their skin and learned how to self-check their skin regularly so that when a change on the skin was seen they immediately took action to have it diagnosed by a qualified healthcare professional, this would be an important step forward. Secondly, when individuals present with skin changes or when they identify skin damage caused by exposure to the sun's UV radiation, there is a significantly higher chance that the person affected can be successfully diagnosed at a much earlier stage of the disease. Third, with earlier diagnosis comes the ability to provide effective treatments that will slow or halt the progression of the disease. As a direct result, the patient will be more likely to achieve a full cure. Fourth, the treatment at this early stage is significantly less costly and less traumatic to the patient compared with surgery and chemotherapy, which may be needed at the more malignant stages of the disease.

Fifth, Australia is at the forefront of research into skin cancer causes and treatment. Some of these innovations are now becoming commercially viable, and others still need to be further researched. Investment of this kind will be making a difference to the future generations before they are confronted with the morbidity or mortality of skin cancer that occurs with our older citizens today.

Sixth, we can make use of the tools that are available. They can make a significant difference to those that are emerging now and those that have been used in the past. Better awareness, early diagnosis, effective and affordable early treatment should be employed by all Australians. Effective interventions will save thousands of Australian lives that are currently needlessly lost every year. I encourage all Australians to get behind the Know Your Own Skin campaign which has been developed by leading experts to encourage people to check their own skin, the body's biggest organ, at the start of each season for sun damage and ask their local GPs for a skin check during their next visit. Further information can be found at www.knowyourownskin.com.au.

I also acknowledge the work of MoleMap, a local business in the Dunkley electorate that recognised some years ago the capacity for digital photographic technology and its high-resolution capability to be used as an ongoing tool to monitor and review skin condition. Has that worrying wart or that skin discolouration changed? How much has it changed? Is there some transformation in the area of the skin? All of these things can be more effectively tracked by the use of digital photographic technology, and I acknowledge MoleMap as one of the leading local exponents of that capability.

I make a heartfelt plea to my constituents and to the broader Australian community to please check your own skin. Also, go and get your skin regularly checked by those with expertise and knowledge to see if any early concerns are arising. People should also ask their family doctor to include a skin check as part of regular routine medical check-up, as they can diagnose any areas of damage and recommend appropriate treatment, or in some cases recommend further consultation with a specialist medical practitioner.

This motion has been moved to help support the good work of the anti-cancer community organisations, the medical fraternity and the pharmaceutical industry in helping to reduce the number of lives lost to skin cancer, but my message tonight is: please, follow the guidance of the experts, know your own skin, get it checked regularly and encourage those that are near and dear to you to do likewise.

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