Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As we enter February, the holiday season is well and truly over. School has resumed; university is about to start, and life with all its busyness and daily routines is in full swing. A regular aspect of our daily routine should be making sure our health is taken care of. Thankfully in Australia we have Medicare. Uniquely Australian, Medicare celebrates its 40th birthday this month. Proudly a Labor initiative, Medicare means that everyone has equal and fair access to the best healthcare system in the world. Often when we read about healthcare systems we focus on the acute side of care—that is, our hospitals and emergency departments. While they're important and vital, it is of course best not to end up in there in the first place. Prevention and early detection are surely the keys to staying out of hospital.

In truth, in the past few years life has been anything but normal. It's been disjointed and fractured. As a result, many haven't kept up to date with their regular check-ups at their GPs or specialists. Sadly, the flow-on effect of this will endure long after the COVID pandemic. With the crisis of the pandemic receding, there's no longer any excuse to put off those regular check-ups. The announcement this week of the cancer diagnosis for King Charles shows that everyone is at risk. I wish the King a speedy recovery to good health. I know that often we're afraid to do those preventive tests lest we get a result that changes the course of our life or that of our loved ones. They are normal and understandable fears, but ignorance in these matters is not bliss. We have the responsibility to ourselves and our families to take care of our health and ensure we do our screening tests. Our lives can often depend on it.

A common screening test that Australians are familiar with is the one for bowel cancer. We know that 90 per cent of cases, if found early, can successfully be treated, and Australians aged between 50 and 74 receive a screening test kit every two years. It's a simple, easy test to complete and it can save your life. While the participation rate has increased since 2014, that number has decreased in the past few years and is sitting around 40 per cent—nowhere near high enough.

Similarly, women across Australia between the ages of 50 and 74 receive a letter every two years to participate in a free mammogram to help detect breast cancer early. One in seven women in Australia will develop breast cancer in their life, and the earlier this is found the easier it is to treat. But early detection relies on screenings. Recently, I had my own regular mammogram, and I'd like to thank Vicki and Juliana, the two wonderful staff at BreastScreen in Liverpool who took care of me when I was called back for further screening. It can be an uncomfortable and sometimes awkward test, but amazing professionals around Australia like Vicki and Juliana make it easier for all of us. Women should also participate in cervical screening tests, and, whilst the rates of participation there are relatively high, at 68 per cent, we can do more to increase these numbers.

Let's not forget that in Australia, the lifestyle of sport, beach and sun leaves us exposed to skin damage. Every 30 minutes in Australia someone is diagnosed with melanoma. Thankfully 99 per cent of skin cancers are curable, but they need to be detected early. The simplest and most effective method is to get a regular skin check at your GP or skin clinic. Bowel cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, skin cancer or melanoma—they devastate far too many lives, but all of these cancers can be successfully treated with early detection. For each of these cancers there is a simple yet incredibly effective screening test available to all Australians. As Australians, we need to be there for our families and our loved ones, so please make sure that you get them.

After the horrors of the past few years, let us do our bit and make 2024 the year of health screening, of making sure that your vaccinations are up to date and of preventive health in general. Surely that is the best new year's resolution of all.

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