Pat Farmer (Macarthur, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to pay tribute to a great lady—a lady who dedicated her life to living and encouraging others to do the same: Jane McGrath. Many people would find it difficult to squeeze into 100 years what Jane and Glenn have been able to do in just over a decade. Jane and her friends set up the McGrath Foundation in 2002, and through this foundation they have been able to employ four breast-care nurses, who are employed in Bega, Moruya, Albury-Wodonga and Perth.

A breast-care nurse is a specialty nurse. They are trained and registered nurses who provide support to cancer sufferers and their families and coordinate patients’ care needs. Jane described her experience of having access to a breast-care nurse as ‘allowing her to be Jane McGrath the friend, the mother and the wife—not just Jane McGrath the breast cancer survivor’.

The psychological wellbeing of cancer sufferers and their families is just so important. Cancer sufferers and their families have to deal with the emotional trauma of this disease whilst trying to comprehend information from doctors about surgery procedures and treatments. It is the breast-care nurses who support the patients and the families through this very difficult time. Having access to accurate information can help inform patients and give their families a better understanding of the situation, which will ultimately give them the hope that somehow they may just be able to beat this disease.

I am sure that Holly and James will for the rest of their lives feel incredibly proud of the strength that their mother and father have shown in dealing with life’s tragedies and support others to make their lives just that little bit easier.

Jane and Glenn are two people who have had an effect on me and on many other Australians. This is why I feel compelled to honour them here tonight for the sacrifices they have made in being public with their lives so that others may learn to deal with their circumstances just that little bit better. Jane McGrath has left us at the age of 42. Her death a loss not only to her two children, James and Holly, and for her husband, Glenn, but also to the many people whose lives have been touched from afar. Through her charity work and her determination, she made every single second count. She saved lives through breast cancer awareness and comforted many others. To be diagnosed with breast cancer at any age is devastating but in the next 11 years Jane was able to accomplish far more than most of us could ever dream of. To sing as if no-one can hear you, to dance as if no-one can see you and to love as if there is no tomorrow, this is the legacy Jane has left for all of us. To the McGrath Foundation and to the family who have done so much for this country, I would like to say a sincere thank you.