Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would also like to commend this motion to the House. I'd like to congratulate the member for Forrest and also, in particular, I'd like to congratulate the co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends for Endometriosis, Gai Brodtmann, the member for Canberra, and Nicolle Flint, the member for Boothby. Also, I would like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the House for their comments. I really hope that we will see some action on this matter.

I've never spoken in this House with such a feeling of guilt as I do today on this motion. My daughter, one of our six children, has suffered for many years from endometriosis. The diagnosis only became apparent following a biopsy on a groin mass, when it became clear that what she'd been suffering from for many years was in fact endometriosis. As a father, I feel guilty that I tended to downplay her complaints, and as a doctor I feel even more guilty that I downplayed her complaints and her symptoms. It's made me realise what an important issue this is and led me to look into the problem of endometriosis and how much it affects the lives of many Australians.

Endometriosis is a common disease, affecting around 10 per cent of women in various different forms. It can cause many symptoms, many signs, including things like: recurrent abdominal pain; abdominal distention; irregular periods; menorrhagia—excessive bleeding; pain during intercourse; and lymphadenopathy—enlarged lymph nodes. Sometimes, because of the chronic nature of the symptoms, depression and anxiety can be a common feature. Some women experience weight loss. Some women find excessive tiredness and lethargy are part of the symptoms.

My story is a lesson that medical professionals must learn to listen to their patients more and be more aware of a possible diagnosis of endometriosis. All of us could learn more about endometriosis. Certainly the government's commitment to funding a national action plan is a good thing. Funding for research is a good thing. But I think it's almost too little too late, and we need to do more.

There do appear to be some risk factors in the development of endometriosis, and the biggest risk factor appears to be family history. There is clearly a strong genetic component. We need to be doing more in terms of looking at the genetics of endometriosis. We also have some difficulties with treatment. At the present time, there's no clear treatment plan for women suffering from endometriosis that general practitioners can follow. As my own case as shown, sometimes even having a parent who's a doctor may not be a good thing. We need to educate our medical professionals much better.

The symptoms, as I mentioned, can vary from place to place and from patient to patient, and much clearer information on the symptoms needs to be given to our general practitioners so that the diagnosis can be made more quickly and easily. Treatments have been poorly researched, and we certainly need to do more in that regard. Most of all, we need to be aware of the diagnosis and we need to be doing more in terms of women's health and awareness of women's health.

The Labor Party is, of course, committed to doing what it can to support women's health and looking at initiatives to develop more comprehensive women's health policies. One thing it's done and has suggested the government should follow is remove the tax on sanitary products, which would at least reduce some of the cost for women. We also need to be doing a lot more in terms of providing support for women with this chronic disease. I commend the motion to the House. I congratulate the members who have spoken on it today. In particular, I congratulate Ms Marino for bringing this motion before the House.

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