Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this week, I met the wonderful, strong and brave Jessica Pratt in my office here in Parliament House. Jess had travelled here from Mount Martha, in my electorate, to discuss the brutal reality of her lived experience with one of Australia's biggest killers: bowel cancer. You wouldn't know it from her kind and determined character, but less than a year ago Jess said goodbye to her husband, Dean, after three years of fighting stage 4 colorectal cancer. Dean was only 35 when he was diagnosed. He was a non-smoker, a non-drinker and an overall fit and healthy man. He'd done everything right. Dean underwent more than 60 rounds of chemotherapy and 40 rounds of radiation before he was taken from this world far too early, and Jess found herself a widow at 40.

Despite this horrific tragedy in her life, Jess is powerfully using her story to create awareness and to advocate for further research and the lowering of the screening age in Australia to 40 or 45 years of age. Understandably, Jess is particularly passionate about the damage of bowel cancer to a younger generation. Death from bowel cancer is five times that of the national road toll in the age bracket of 22 to 45. It is the deadliest cancer. Jess is urging the government to help create greater awareness within this age group, so they know that they too are at risk and visit their GP or go to their local chemist and get a screening kit. Thank you, Jess.

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