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

I move:

That this House:

(1)   notes that:

(a)   February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, which aims to raise awareness among Australian women of the symptoms of ovarian cancer; and

(b)   each year 1400 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and more than 1000 will die from the disease—that is one woman every 8 hours;

(2)   notes with concern that the prognosis for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer is generally poor due to the advanced stage of most ovarian cancers at the time of diagnosis;

(3)   acknowledges that there is no screening program or detection test for ovarian cancer, and that the Pap smear will not detect the disease;

(4)   recognises that:

(a)   ovarian cancer is not a silent disease and that all women experience symptoms, even in the early stages of the cancer; and

(b)   the four most common symptoms are:

  (i)   abdominal or pelvic pain;

  (ii)   increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating;

  (iii)   needing to urinate often or urgently; and

  (iv)   difficulty eating or feeling full quickly;

(5)   understands that every Australian woman needs to know the symptoms of ovarian cancer; and

(6)   notes the need for greater focus on education and additional research funding to help Australian scientists to find early detection markers and more effective treatments for this disease.

February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. It is an illness that not many people really understand. Over a quarter of Australians know somebody who has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Only half of Australians know that ovarian cancer exhibits some significant symptoms. According to a recent study 1,400 Australians are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and over 1,000 of those will die. Ovarian cancer has the lowest survival rate of any women's cancer. Only 43 per cent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will be alive five years after diagnosis, in comparison to breast cancer, where a five-year survival rate is 89 per cent. Over half of Australians still wrongly believe that a Pap smear can be used to detect ovarian cancer, and a third believe that most women diagnosed with ovarian cancer will survive.

The study also showed that women over the age of 50 were most commonly affected by ovarian cancer—although that does not preclude young women from developing ovarian cancer. I will talk about one such young woman in a moment. Around one-third of the respondents incorrectly believed that the human papilloma virus vaccine would protect them against ovarian cancer—not true. Only one in 10 Australians knew that the oral contraceptive pill actually reduces the risk of ovarian cancer. This is least well known among women aged over 50, with only five per cent of that age group responding correctly. Without early detection, without understanding or recognising the signs, ovarian cancer is a death sentence.

As I mentioned, February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In awareness month we need to focus on those symptoms which, if experienced by women, are an indication of ovarian cancer. The four key symptoms of ovarian cancer include abdominal and pelvic pain, increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating, the need to urinate often or urgently and a feeling of being full after you have eaten. So it is a disease that has subtle symptoms. Unless a person is really attuned to those symptoms and aware of those symptoms, they will not notice them. As I mentioned earlier, it has the lowest survival rate of any women's cancer.

I am sure every person in this chamber today knows somebody who has died from ovarian cancer. I had a very close friend who died a few years ago from ovarian cancer. Jeannie Ferris, a senator in this parliament, died of ovarian cancer. Recently I attended an ovarian cancer function with Carol Bear, whose daughter Kylie was only in her 30s when she died of ovarian cancer. She has developed a very positive way of trying to perpetuate Kylie's memory. Kylie was a member of the Marching Koalas in the Hunter region. She was a very bright young woman who had just been married. Carol is making bead bracelets in Kylie's memory.

There is no easy recognition of ovarian cancer, and there is a need for greater awareness. There is a need for more research. I would like to encourage every member in this house today to have an ovarian cancer afternoon tea. February is the month when this happens. I am actually holding one on Friday, 7 March. I encourage members to go back to their electorates and have one of these afternoon teas to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.

Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Shortland and to lend my voice to raise awareness to save lives and provide support to those impacted by ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death affecting women in Australia. February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout this month Ovarian Cancer Australia, the peak national body for ovarian cancer, will campaign to highlight the symptoms of ovarian cancer, to honour women who have lost their battle against this deadly disease, and to raise vital funds to support essential educational, support and advocacy programs.

Each year approximately 1,400 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Tragically, more than 1,000 Australian women die from this disease each year. Statistics from the New South Wales department of health show that between 2004 and 2008 the incidence rate of ovarian cancer on the Central Coast was 1.5 per cent higher than for the rest of New South Wales. During this period, sadly, 120 Central Coast women were diagnosed with this disease. Tragically, ovarian cancer's high mortality rate is due to the absence of a proven screening test.

Doctors who suspect ovarian cancer are able to perform a number of tests, including blood tests and ultrasounds, to assist making a diagnosis. Invasive surgery is the only definitive way to diagnose ovarian cancer. Blood tests may be used to monitor the CA 125 protein. This protein will be higher than normal in women with ovarian cancer. Other tumour markers called inhibin or CEA may also be present. But not all tumours will show in signs of these markers. Therefore, obtaining a diagnosis is a challenging task. In addition to blood tests, ultrasounds can be used to visually identify the presence of ovarian cancer.

The prognosis for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer is generally poor, due to the advanced stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis. An individual's prognosis depends on the type and stage of the cancer as well as the woman's age and general health at the time of diagnosis. The overall five-year survival rate for Australian women diagnosed with ovarian cancer is approximately 43 per cent. If the cancer is able to be treated when it is still confined to the ovaries, 93 per cent of patients will be alive in five years. Sadly, we see a significant drop in survival rates if the cancer spreads to surrounding tissues or organs, with only 39 per cent of women surviving this disease.

During Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, it is essential that we highlight the symptoms and available treatment options. Unfortunately, for many women no symptoms present, or symptoms may be non-specific and include: persistent abdominal, pelvic or back pain; increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating; the need to urinate often or urgently; and fullness after food, weight loss and loss of appetite.

Every woman should be mindful of ovarian cancer and should be aware of these symptoms. Treatment options are dependent on the severity of the cancer. Surgery is used to determine the extent of the disease. When it is localised, surgery is used as a primary treatment. If the cancer has spread, surgery aims to remove as much as possible and this is followed by chemotherapy. While we do not know the cause of most cases of ovarian cancer, research continues both in Australia and abroad. In November 2014, Ovarian Cancer Australia launched their national ovarian cancer research strategy. Paula Benson, Chair of the Board of Ovarian Cancer Australia, describes the strategy as a 'blueprint for how Australia can best contribute to the global ovarian cancer research effort.' I encourage all sides of politics to work together to support those who are working to find a cure for ovarian cancer.

This motion starts the conversation amongst MPs regarding ovarian cancer. It is important that we keep this going. It is our duty to disseminate this knowledge to people in our electorates and to ensure that women are aware of the risk factors and symptoms of ovarian cancer. I would like to acknowledge the women's cancer support group based on the Central Coast which offers support with gynaecological cancers. The group works alongside the Central Coast Cancer Council and provides support services at their office at Erina.

In Australia, a woman dies from ovarian cancer every eight hours. Every eight hours the life of a mother, daughter or sister is extinguished to this ruthless disease. I hope for the day when we have available widely accessible detection tests and effective treatments for this disease. It is important that we get behind organisations such as the Ovarian Cancer Australia. This February, help by participating in an afternoon tea, by baking a cake, by having a cuppa or by hosting an afternoon tea or a summer tea party for a great cause. I commend this motion to the House.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last year, ovarian cancer claimed the life of a very good friend of mine, Betty Leahy. Bette was an extraordinary woman who provided financial counselling services at child and family services before she retired. She mentored me as a young social worker and as a friend when I worked there. You could not meet a kinder and more gentle woman than Bette. It was my great fortune to have had such a person come in to my life just as I started my career.

Yet Betty carried a burden that would be beyond many of us. Before she succumbed to her own illness, cancer had tragically taken the lives of both her husband and her daughter, who died in her 30s. Shortly before she died, Bette asked me to come and see her in St John of God Ballarat Hospital. She particularly wanted to ask me to use my position as Labor shadow health spokesperson and to use the position that all of us hold here in this place to champion the cause for more research into ovarian cancer and to raise awareness of the disease which so cruelly cut her life short, as well as that of so many other Australian women. As Labor's health spokesperson, I particularly want to elevate this cause. Though I particularly do want to acknowledge Betty, this is not just for Betty but also for all Australian women who are stricken by ovarian cancer every year. I am very grateful to the member for Shortland for providing this opportunity to do so.

February, as this motion recognises, is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Ovarian cancer has not, it is fair to say, achieved the same level of public recognition as other cancers, such as the magnificent work that has been done in recent years to raise awareness of breast cancer. Yet ovarian cancer is an insidious disease which still claims the lives of more half of the woman who contract it. It is the second most commonly diagnosed women's cancer in Australia, with around 1,400 new cases each year. That number is rising with around 1,000 women dying from the disease every year. It accounts for around five per cent of all cancer deaths in Australia. While, like most cancers, there have been great improvements in the mortality rate in recent years, the five-year survival rate, as we have heard, is still less than 45 per cent.

The average age of ovarian cancer diagnosis is around 64, which is the age at which former Senator Jeannie Ferris was first diagnosed before she, sadly, succumbed two years later. But it can also affect much younger women. Perhaps most notable in this country is the case of one of our great athletes, Raelene Boyle, who was in her 40s when she was diagnosed with both breast cancer and then a few years later with ovarian cancer. Raelene is proof of how early detection is crucial to surviving ovarian cancer and why, therefore, we must do much more to raise awareness of the symptoms, which could be the difference between life and death. The Commonwealth Games medallist and three-time Olympic silver medallist was only diagnosed when an injury revealed an early stage, 12-centimetre mass on her ovary, which was then removed. The check-up 16 months later revealed the mass had grown again, and that was removed again.

Most women do not find out that they have ovarian cancer until the disease is at its advanced stages. By then it is too late for most, with a much lower survival rate. For the few who are diagnosed early, such as Raelene, the chances of beating ovarian cancer are, of course, much greater. As Raelene later said, the symptoms are so minor—having a distended tummy, a sore back or bleeding—that women generally just put up with these things. But if you think there might be something wrong, if you are not sure, go and get it checked out. The symptoms, we know, are hard to spot, but early detection is vital to survival. It is crucial that we do more to raise awareness of this disease so that these warning signs of ovarian cancer become as well known as the Pap smear or the breast check.

This motion recognises, in particular, that we need to highlight those symptoms. Through Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and the many Morning Teals—the member the Canberra will, I think, be hosting one in this place again, or there will be events happening here—we must raise awareness of those symptoms: abdominal or pelvic pain, increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating, the need to urinate often or urgently, and difficulty eating or feeling full quickly. It is also very important to raise the importance of research, to raise funds for research, to ensure that the strategic research plan that the ovarian cancer association has developed is actually enacted in full, and that we have bipartisan support to make sure that that research funding does flow to ovarian cancer.

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of this motion by the member for Shortland and I thank her for bringing it to the House today. Cancer in all its types exacts a terrible price in Australia—emotionally, physically and financially. According to the Cancer Council, by the age of 85 one in two men and one in three women will have been diagnosed with some form of cancer. Some 128,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed each year. That is 14 cases an hour—and that number is rising. Thankfully, in Australia 66 per cent of people diagnosed with cancer are still alive after five years. According to doctors and the Cancer Council, the key is early diagnosis and treatment.

That is what makes being aware of the symptoms of ovarian cancer so important. Unfortunately, the symptoms are so commonplace that many women simply ignore them until it is too late. With no effective screening methods available and the symptoms being so commonplace, ovarian cancer is hard to detect early, which is why it often presents after it has spread. That is why it is so important that women are aware not only of those symptoms but of the other risk factors in developing ovarian cancer. Some of those risk factors include, as my colleagues have said before, being over 50 years of age, family history, changes in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2, childlessness, infertility, having your first child after the age of 30, never taking oral contraceptives, and using oestrogen-only hormone replacement therapy or fertility treatment.

If you have symptoms and these other risk factors, it is vital you get to your doctor for a check-up, as the survival rate of this cancer depends on whether or not it has spread from the ovaries. If it is contained within the ovaries, the survival rate is 93 per cent after five years, but that drops to 30 per cent if it has spread. That drop in survival rate is why I particularly support point 6 of this motion. We must do more to educate women to be more aware of the symptoms and risk factors.

We must help researchers to develop more efficient and effective diagnostics tools. Of course, that means making more funding available. To do that, I ask the opposition to support its own proposed budget measures that are before the Senate. As both the head of Treasury and the Governor of the Reserve Bank told cabinet last week, a return to surplus will not occur in the foreseeable future if we do not address the $110 million a week this government needs to borrow to pay the interest on Labor's legacy of debt. I am certain that researchers in the field of ovarian cancer would enjoy just one week of the government's interest payments for their research funds.

This is the reality of the vandalism wreaked on our economy by Labor. Labor's debt is quite literally preventing more research funding. According to the Cancer Council, the direct cost of cancer is $3.8 billion in direct healthcare costs alone. This does not include time lost for treatment and recovery; nor can an adequate figure be placed on the suffering of victims and their families. To support women with gynaecological cancers requiring care, the government provides more than $1.5 million of funding each year through Cancer Australia for the Maintaining support for women with gynaecological cancers program. The program aims to support health professionals to deliver evidence based multidisciplinary care to women affected by gynaecological cancers and to provide information support for women, their families and carers.

As Minister Cash says, given how much we still need to understand about ovarian cancer, I hope that all Australians can come together during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and support women battling to overcome this disease. I commend the motion to the House.

Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak about Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and I thank and commend the member for Shortland for her motion and her continued work in this area over a number of years. As the ACT Ovarian Cancer Australia ambassador, I am proud to be involved in raising awareness of ovarian cancer in Australia. As we all know, February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. It is a time to promote awareness of the disease, and to encourage Australians to raise funds for vital research.

We do not know what causes Ovarian Cancer, and sadly there is currently no reliable early detection test or screening program. The Pap smear does not detect ovarian cancer. I know from the many speeches I have made on this issue, over the years since I have been an ambassador, that this is a common misconception. There are a lot of women out there who think that the Pap smear picks up ovarian cancer. The message to them is: it does not. I know that they come away quite stunned by the fact that the Pap smear is not designed to detect ovarian cancer.

We all know what the Pap smear is designed to detect, but ovarian cancer is not it. So they come away and are usually quite surprised. They think that they have got everything covered. They go and get their Pap smear done; they have got everything covered. Unfortunately, because there is no early detection mechanism for ovarian cancer, it is not.

Each year, more than 1,400 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and around 100 will die from the disease. On average, three Australian women are diagnosed every day, and one Australian woman dies every eight hours. These are shocking statistics, and that is why this month I will be campaigning in my electorate, talking to women about the symptoms, raising awareness, and, importantly, raising funds. And also, again, I will be addressing that misconception about the Pap smear.

A major part of the problem with ovarian cancer is the late stage at which the cancer is detected and most women are diagnosed. The prognosis for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer is generally poor due to the advanced stage of the cancer. In fact, more than half these women will not live for five years after their diagnosis. But, if ovarian cancer is found in the early stages, up to 95 per cent of women will be alive and well after five years.

Ovarian cancer often goes unchecked, because the symptoms are ones that many women will face from time to time—they are quite common—and they are often symptoms of less serious and more common health problems. The key to early diagnosis is to know the symptoms and see your doctor if they arise. Almost all women diagnosed report four symptoms. A number of the speakers who have been speaking on this motion today have highlighted these, but we have to etch them in our minds. We women, we friends of women, we sisters of women—we need to etch these in our brains. They are: abdominal or pelvic pain; increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating; needing to urinate often or urgently; and feeling full after eating a small amount. This February, I ask everyone to learn these symptoms and make sure your wives, your mothers, your sisters, your daughters and friends know these symptoms too.

During my time as the ACT Ovarian Cancer Australia ambassador, I have met so many brave Canberrans who have lost a loved one to ovarian cancer, and who, in the face of their grief, dedicate themselves to raising funds for ovarian cancer research and raising awareness of this disease. In 2013 I helped launch the Capital Cookbook II, a tribute from a son to a mother whose life was cut short by ovarian cancer, and I again publicly congratulate the book's writer, Stefan, on this magnificent achievement. He is still out there selling these books. You still see him down at the Kingston market once a month on a Sunday. He is an extraordinary young man, a very talented Canberran, and this is such a significant and moving tribute to his mother.

To the many others in the community who have been affected by ovarian cancer: you are not alone in your fight, as is evident here in the chamber today. We will stand together on all sides of politics and support you. Ovarian Cancer Australia relies on the generous support of the community to help fund research programs and support services for women diagnosed, as well as their families. I ask everyone to get behind Teal Ribbon Day, the primary fundraising and awareness day for Ovarian Cancer Australia, which is coming up on 25 February. Let's get women talking about ovarian cancer and its symptoms, and let's get out there in the community to raise funds and raise awareness.

Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the member for Shortland for putting this issue before the chamber. As we all know, ovarian cancer is one of the major cancers that we face in our society. Many years ago in my state a federal senator, Senator Jeannie Ferris, lost a battle to ovarian cancer. I only met Jeannie a number of times, but she was a fine and decent woman. She, like many others, lost the battle too early to ovarian cancer.

We know this is a horrible cancer and one which we need research to look into further. The diagnosis, as we have heard, is generally through ultrasound. As ultrasound is not a common procedure in everyday life, diagnosis is often only realised by chance when doctors are looking for something else. As a consequence, it is often made very late, and we have heard from colleagues from both sides of the House to this effect. It can hit at any age too, and there have been some remarkable improvements in the ability of suffers to conceive children. Previously, when young women faced this cancer, there was no opportunity for them to have children as the treatment would leave them infertile. Now there is an increased chance of younger women being able to have children should they wish to. Thanks to the improvements in IVF, this is now possible. Like all other cancers, we need to look into survival rates and ways to improve them. We have made great strides in this respect, but there is a lot of work to do and more can be done.

Prior to entering parliament, I decided that I wanted to raise money for certain causes and charities, and now I am looking at how I can help the cancer community throughout Australia, but naturally my focus is in South Australia. Together with my wife, we raised money for children with cancer in a charity bike ride in the Clare Valley in South Australia. Only a few weeks ago I participated in the Bupa Challenge Tour, as part of this year's Tour Down Under, where thousands of riders rode together, a number supporting cancer under the Ride for a Reason concept. Some riders raised around $10,000. My amount was not so high, but I want to put on the public record my thanks to the family and friends who gave generous financial support. Next Saturday another cancer event, this time for breast cancer, will be held at my local surf club at West Beach in Adelaide. In its first year there were around 80 swimmers. In the second year there were 400, including the state Liberal leader, Steven Marshall, and there was $10,000 raised last year, which was donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. We look forward to many more fine donations and swimmers like me getting out there next Saturday.

I want to touch on some general statistics for cancer in South Australia. Every day, 25 South Australians are diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is currently, as we know, the leading cause of death in Australia. One in two Australians will develop cancer, and one in five will have died of cancer by the age of 85. There is hope, however. We know that survival rates have increased by 19 per cent in the last two decades, and we know how to prevent or detect early up to 50 per cent of cancers. Regrettably, though, with the risk of cancer increasing, successful treatment is needed, as is early detection.

There is an important project that the Cancer Council in South Australia is undertaking and that I am keen to support. It is a bold new project that is looking at increasing the accommodation for cancer sufferers, building a purpose built cancer centre, the first of its kind, a facility providing accommodation services, research and prevention activities.

I want to briefly touch on the successes Australia has had in medical research, because I think this is part of the overall debate. Whether it be the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine or the creation of the spray-on skin by Dr Fiona Wood or the development of the first penicillin based antibiotic by Howard Florey, there are important developments and successes we have had in medical research.

Going back to the Cancer Council operations in the western suburbs, pre-treatment chemotherapy, post-treatment care, management of treatment reviews and ongoing coordination of treatment services by nurse coordinators are all planned for this facility. One hundred and eighty rooms are planned for country South Australians, who can travel to the city for treatment, including family suites and culturally appropriate facilities. In closing, we know that greater research is required for ovarian cancer and that diagnosis has to be early to ensure better rates of survival. I support the motion.

Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with members on both sides of the House in congratulating and thanking the member for Shortland for moving this motion with respect to ovarian cancer. This is an insidious issue which confronts many women and which needs greater awareness publicly. There is no doubt that, when we talk about many health issues, often they are raised in the context of men—men are hopeless at understanding the nature of problems that they have; they are unlikely to go to a doctor; they do not understand symptoms. In those circumstances, often by the time they find themselves diagnosed, the condition that they have, and it often is a cancer, is much further down the track and therefore much harder to deal with and, hopefully, cure.

In this case, we are dealing with a situation that relates to women's health. Ovarian cancer has a series of symptoms which are common but which need to be better understood. However, in that context, it does not have an early detection mechanism which allows it to be found at early stages. That creates the real tragedy of ovarian cancer, which is that many women do not know they have it and, by the time they are diagnosed, it is so far down the track that it has moved elsewhere within the body and the likelihood of successful treatment and a longer and productive life is greatly reduced. In Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, we really need to get out there and ensure that women understand the nature of this disease and the symptoms of this disease so that more women can be diagnosed earlier and therefore, hopefully, receive the treatment that they need.

Also, going on from that, when we look at the detection mechanisms that are in place, such as mammograms for breast cancer or Pap smears for cervical cancer, there is a need for more ongoing research into ovarian cancer to ensure that we understand this condition better and, through that process, establish mechanisms which can be used for early detection. That requires a commitment to research. There is some good research going on, but it needs to be supported and it needs to be funded to ensure that this condition receives the analysis and research that it deserves.

Ovarian cancer is the growth of malignant cells in one or both ovaries and is often accompanied by the spread of malignant cells to surrounding organs in the abdominal cavity. Whilst a small number of cases appear to have an underlying genetic component, in most cases the causes of ovarian cancer are unknown. Ovarian cancer, although it does occur in younger women, is more common in women over the age of 50. Around 15 per cent of ovarian cancer cases in Australia are hereditary. It has the lowest survival rate of any women's cancer. Its five-year survival rate is well below the average for all cancers. As has been mentioned by other speakers, each year more than 1,400 Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and approximately 1,000 women die from the disease. That overall five-year survival rate that I mentioned occurs in only around 43 per cent of cases, and that compares with a breast cancer survival rate of something like 89 per cent.

Ensuring that people are aware of the circumstances around it and its symptoms is very important. The symptoms are: abdominal or pelvic pain; increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating; the need to urinate urgently or often; and feeling full after eating only a small amount. It is incredibly important that women are aware of these symptoms and understand what they might mean, because only then will they actually be able to get the testing they need to establish whether or not they have this condition. The fact is—and we know it to be the case—with this condition particularly, as with many cancers, the earlier you get to it, the greater the chance of survival. The earlier you get to it, the greater the chance of a long and productive life.

With those few words, I urge everyone to get behind Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month to ensure that Australian women better understand this condition and the impact that it may have on their families and their lives.

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Member for Shortland's motion, and I endorse her comments and the comments made by those members present who have spoken on this very important issue. Ovarian cancer, as we know, takes away over 1,000 daughters, mothers, sisters and friends from their loved ones in Australia each year. It takes away one woman every eight hours. By the end of this week, 28 women will have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and, unfortunately, 21 will have died. It is a truly devastating disease.

Sometimes, though, when we hear these figures, it does not bring home the personal impact. Today I want to talk about a friend of mine, her mother and her journey. The mother of this good friend of mine was recently diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. She is an amazing woman, a much loved wife, mother and grandmother, a good friend to so many, and an amazing volunteer in our local community. Currently, she is on this very traumatic journey. She is receiving excellent treatment and excellent care. But it is her fortitude, her resilience and her zest for life that is an inspiration to all she comes in contact with. Every single one of those statistics is a personal story. That is why it is so important that we discuss ovarian cancer in this place today.

As an ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia for over three years, I have spoken many times about how important it is to be familiar with the symptoms of ovarian cancer. I am going to run through them again, because you can never, ever talk about these symptoms enough. There are four key symptoms: abdominal or pelvic pain; increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating; needing to urinate often or urgently; and, finally, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly. The problem, of course, is that these symptoms are very common, and most women do not always recognise that these symptoms can be linked with ovarian cancer. It is critical that, if women experience these symptoms over time and if these symptoms are new to them and persist for more than two weeks, they should consult their doctor and do so as quickly as possible.

We all know that there is a lot of publicity given to other diseases and other cancers. Ovarian cancer is a uniquely women's cancer. Despite the fact that it is the seventh most common cancer in women worldwide, it often gets overlooked. This has prompted Ovarian Cancer Australia to launch a national action plan for ovarian cancer research, an Australian-first agenda that sets out immediate priorities for research in order to make a significant change to the number of women dying from the disease each year. It is a very important plan. For the first time, a national plan has been developed for ovarian cancer enabling a priority-driven focus for investment, unifying effort and providing a blueprint for researchers and funders from around Australia.

As part of the launch of the national action plan, Ovarian Cancer Australia also announced $1 million in funding to support the priorities identified in the plan, which includes $900,000 for a funding partnership between Ovarian Cancer Australia and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the researchers around the country who are dedicating their time to this critically important research, particularly those amazing researchers at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.

Ovarian Cancer Australia are also again promoting Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month this February, with teal ribbons being sold and Morning Teal events being held around the country. To help raise awareness in my local community I am hosting a Morning Teal on 27 February and I would encourage those across the country to do the same or to wear a teal ribbon to indicate their support. Last year, our morning tea raised over $10,000 for Ovarian Cancer Australia. This money goes to supporting women and their families on their journey, as well as the important research project that will help us find a cure for ovarian cancer. This is a very critical issue facing our community. Ovarian cancer currently has a five-year survival rate of 43 per cent. We, here, want to make a difference to that survival rate, and it is through advocacy, it is through research and it is through all of us knowing the symptoms that we will be able to make a change to that.

Debate adjourned.