Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Bowel Cancer Week falls in the week of 3 to 9 June, so I raise the issue of bowel cancer tonight in this parliament. Australia has one of the highest bowel cancer rates in the world. It is the second most common diagnosed cancer in Australia, and around 14,234 Australians are told they have bowel cancer every year. Bowel cancer is the second biggest killer after lung cancer, claiming the lives of around 4,047 Australians every year—80 Australian lives every week. In fact, my father died from bowel cancer, as have some very close friends—and I will talk about a woman who died recently and about an event that I am holding in my electorate.

Bowel cancer is one of the most curable types of cancer if it is detected early. The chance of surviving for at least five years if diagnosed early enough is 90 per cent, and most people are able to return to their current lifestyle. However, most cases are detected at a later stage and, because of that, close to 60 per cent of people diagnosed with bowel cancer survive for only five years. As I have pointed out, that could be a lot better if there were an earlier diagnosis of the disease.

Early detection offers the best hope of reducing the number of Australians who die from bowel cancer each year. Based on current levels, one in 12 Australians will develop bowel cancer before the age of 85. It is a disease that both men and women are at risk of developing. The greatest risk factors are if you are aged over 50 years; have had an inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis; have previously had special types of polyps called adenomas in the bowel; or have had a significant family history of bowel cancer polyps. A new study has found that up to 20 per cent of adults with bowel cancer symptoms, such as bleeding, have not consulted a doctor about their symptoms. That is a very serious mistake by those people because, as I have already indicated, early detection gives a person the best chance of a cure.

A new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare predicts that 20,000 people will be diagnosed with bowel cancer in the year 2020. That is mostly due to the ageing population. Importantly, bowel cancer will continue to be the second most common cause of cancer. The report Cancer incidence projections 2011-2020 predicts that 150,000 Australians will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in the year 2020.

I was very pleased to see in the budget a $49.7 million boost over the next four years, which means that Australians who turn 60 from 2013 and 70 from 2015 will be invited to participate in the free screening program. Over one million additional people will have the opportunity to participate in bowel cancer screening over the next four years. Between 1 July 2012 and 31 December 2015 around five million Australians will be offered free bowel cancer screening. This is a big commitment by the government to introduce free two-yearly screening for all Australians between the ages of 50 and 74. From 2017 additional age groups will progressively be included in the screening program.

As I mentioned earlier, on 5 June I will be holding a bowel cancer awareness forum in my electorate at the Ballantyne bowling club. On that day there will be a representative from the Cancer Council, Peter Morris—a survivor of bowel cancer and a friend—who will be telling the sad story of his wife, Vicki. Vicki lost her fight with bowel cancer earlier this year, and the sad side of the story is that if she had been diagnosed earlier she would still be alive today.