Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday I had the pleasure of being presented with a petition from a group of local men in my electorate. The petition seeks to have Taxotere registered on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Taxotere is a drug that can be used to fight both breast and prostate cancer. However, while Taxotere is available on the PBS for breast cancer it is not afforded the same status for those with prostate cancer.

Tragically, prostate cancer kills some 2,600 Australian men a year. Whilst prostate cancer is responsible for virtually the same number of deaths in Australia as breast cancer, community awareness of this issue is nowhere near as high. Each year 10,000 Australian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Taxotere has been able to extend the lives of prostate patients by an average of two months. However, as it is not registered on the PBS, people like Terry Grano in my electorate are left with no choice but to pay up to $3,000 a treatment. For many fighting prostate cancer this is beyond their means.

Despite being in a fight for their lives, a group of men headed by Terry have managed to collect 2,112 signatures on this petition. Terry and his friends were generous enough to share their stories with me and I hope that, with the tabling of this petition later in the week, their voice and stories will be heard here in Canberra. I would like to thank Dr Rod Bond for helping with the petition, Laura Turner from WIN TV for covering the story, and most of all Terry and his group of friends for all their hard work. I look forward to continuing to work with you all to raise awareness about this terrible disease.