Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) nine men a day die from prostate cancer;

(b) September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month;

(c) Members of Parliament and members of the community are encouraged to host their own Big Aussie Barbie to raise awareness for the prevention of prostate cancer in Australia; and

(d) the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) encourages all men to:

  (i) be aware of the importance of early detection;

  (ii) consult with their general practitioner about prostate cancer; and

  (iii) if they have a family history of prostate cancer and are aged 40 to 50 years, arrange with their general practitioner to be tested; and

(2) acknowledges the important work done by the PCFA through promoting research, raising awareness and supporting the families of prostate cancer sufferers and survivors.

In my first speech in parliament I told the story of my grandfather Athol Neate. He was a garbageman, he was a soldier and he was a prisoner of war. He was captured by the Nazis in Crete in 1941 and he spent the next few years as a prisoner of war until he was released in 1943 as part of a prisoner transfer. He lived an extraordinary life and he died an excruciating death. He died from prostate cancer. I will never forget how the drugs that he had to take made his face, his feet and his hands puff up. I will never forget visiting him at the nursing home just before he died and seeing how he had so withered away. I will never forget the pained look on his face, his courage in the face of all of this or how much he loved my grandmother and my whole family. He deserved better. He deserved better than an awful death. He deserved better than to be taken by this terrible disease.

So many Australian families have a story like this. Every day, nine Australian men die from prostate cancer, more than 3,000 every year. More Australians die from prostate cancer than breast cancer, but awareness of this disease and funding for research are tiny by comparison. Today, another 54 Australians will be told that that they have prostate cancer. Twenty thousand will get this news this year. For some, it will be too late; the cancer will be too advanced to stop. But for others, those who find out early—this is important information; it is information that could just save their lives—early detection is the key. In the early stages of prostate cancer you might have no symptoms at all. That is why, if you are a bloke in your 40s or 50s, it is important to talk to your doctor and ask their advice about getting tested. If you have a family history of prostate cancer, it is recommended that you talk to your doctor about getting checked from the age of 40. If you do not have a family history of prostate cancer, then it is recommended that you should start talking to your doctor about this when you turn 50. The most important thing is to go to the doctor, and men, as we know, are terrible at this. We tend to put off going to the doctor. We do not like getting a check-up, and we do not like asking questions about all of these things, but we have to—it is too important not to. If you are listening to this and you are not a bloke in your 40s or 50s but know somebody who is, then encourage them to go to the doctor to ask these questions, get information and ask if they should get a check-up.

That is what this month is all about. This month is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and as part of that the Prostate Cancer Awareness Foundation is encouraging all of us— members of parliament and all members of the community—to organise a Big Aussie Barbie to raise awareness of prostate cancer and to raise funds to help the 120,000 Australian men and their families who are currently living with prostate cancer. I am running my own Big Aussie Barbie this Saturday morning at Bass Hill Plaza in my electorate. If you live in Bankstown, Bass Hill, Georges Hall, Yagoona or anywhere in Western Sydney and you have some spare time this Saturday morning, come down to Bass Hill Plaza, buy a snag and get some information.

This Wednesday, with my colleague Karen McNamara, the member for Dobell, we are hosting a Big Aussie Barbie here at Parliament House. I can think of no better way to get a bunch of politicians, their staff and journalists together than the smell of steak, sausages and onions cooking. So that is what we will be doing this Wednesday at midday in the House of Representatives courtyard. I encourage everybody here at Parliament House to come along, get a snag, get a steak, get a brochure with some information, read it and then give it to someone you love and tell them to read it and to have a talk to their doctor. If you are watching this or listening to this and you want to run your own barbie or just get more information, then go to www.prostate.org.au—you might just save your life.

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