Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tomorrow in my electorate of Brisbane I will be hosting a morning 'teal' to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. Teal is the internationally recognised colour for ovarian cancer and was it teal ribbon many of us wore yesterday in this House. All proceeds from tomorrow's event will go to Ovarian Cancer Australia to support their important work of raising awareness about symptoms of ovarian cancer and about treatment of and support for sufferers. Because there is no early screening test for ovarian cancer, our best weapon is prevention and that begins with knowing what the symptoms are. Yet sadly, one in five Australian women cannot name one symptom of the disease. We really need to change that statistic.

I am delighted that Dr Michael Gattas, one of the world's foremost experts on ovarian cancer, will speak at tomorrow's event on genetics and ovarian cancer. Thanks also to Marie-Louise Theile, who will be our master of ceremonies, and to Vicki Pitts for hosting the event in the beautiful Room with Roses located in the iconic Brisbane Arcade in the CBD.

I am dedicating the event to my late friend Senator Jeannie Ferris, South Australian senator and government Senate whip during the Howard government. Sadly, Jeannie lost her battle with ovarian cancer in 2007. For her, increasing understanding and awareness of the disease and early detection were paramount to improving the outcomes for Australian women. Jeannie would agree with me that increasing awareness and understanding is the best defence in beating this disease.