Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) according to Cancer Australia an estimated 3,306 men have died from prostate cancer in 2019;

(b) there is an estimated one in six risk of a male being diagnosed with prostate cancer by his 85th birthday; and

(c) it is vital that men take their health seriously;

(2) acknowledges the tireless work of men's health advocate, prostate cancer survivor and Maylands resident, Mr David Dyke, for raising awareness about prostate cancer and promoting the importance of men's health in the electoral division of Perth and across Australia;

(3) commends Mr Dyke for his:

(a) advocacy in championing men's health;

(b) efforts in producing a deeply personal documentary on his battle with prostate cancer; and

(c) committed work in raising awareness about prostate cancer; and

(4) encourages Members to watch Mr Dyke's YouTube documentary 'David Dyke Prostate Journey: From Diagnosis to Rehabilitation'.

Today, nine men will die from prostate cancer. Tomorrow, another nine men will die from prostate cancer in Australia. As a matter of fact, this happens every single day of the year. The motion in front of us today is actually about hope that we can do something about that and that the conversation we have as a nation brings us together and encourages us towards further action. One person in my electorate that inspired this motion is a gentleman called David Dyke. David is a prostate cancer survivor. I will talk more about his journey and his innovative way of responding to his diagnosis in a moment.

For Australian men, this is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer. It's currently the second largest cause of cancer related deaths. It's most likely to affect men over the age of 55, and the risk increases every year. I talked to the library earlier today, and they informed me they don't have the statistics for this parliament, but for the 45th Parliament the average age of men in this place was over 50, at 52. The chances of an average male being diagnosed by his 85th birthday is one in six. Those are our friends, family members, brothers, dads and uncles. That sums up to 19,508 cases every year. In Australia this year, that means that some 3,306 Australians have already died from this cancer. It's something we sadly all have a personal experience of. Indeed, I heard the story of a friend of mine luckily overcoming his battle with prostate cancer. Sadly, I heard this at his funeral. He had battled prostate cancer for some 18 years before passing away from other causes. It is a preventable disease but we all know someone who has been affected by it. On that note, I want to commend the member for Blaxland, who seconds this motion. He has done so much advocacy in this place and across the country in making sure that we continue this discussion, and I look forward to hearing his contribution in a few moments time.

This isn't a disease that just affects the body; it also affects the mind. The mental health challenges for those who are diagnosed with prostate cancer are immense. We need to remember that what starts physically can often have just as much of a toll emotionally and mentally. Between 2010 and 2014—these are the best statistics we have—some 90,354 men were living with prostate cancer. To put that in perspective, that's almost an entire federal electorate. The strain is huge. The struggle is huge. But, as I said, a gentleman called David Dyke, who lives in Maylands, in my electorate, had a very innovative response. Earlier this year during Men's Health Week, he screened his film Prostate Journey: From Diagnosis to Rehabilitation. I'm pleased that the YouTube link to that film is available in the motion before us today.

David is an active local in the Perth electorate. David spends his time on many things, including rehabilitating Bardon Park, a beautiful piece of prime riverfront land in the Perth electorate on the Swan River. When he was diagnosed in 2016, David decided that he would start fundraising and arrange an entire film crew to follow him on his journey—not your average reaction but he has made a very moving and incredibly honest film about his experience. It's about his struggle and his struggle with mental health and his call for men to be more active about their health. I studied film in university, and I should admit that I actually dropped out. Making documentaries is hard work. Doing it on a shoestring budget makes it even harder. David put this film together and he launched it at The RISE in Maylands. He has shared it across our community and encourages people to watch the film. It is one of the many ways that we can continue the conversation about making sure that this disease that affects so many is something that eventually becomes part of our history, not our future.

I will finish by commending the work of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. They have many, many patrons. I think it is almost compulsory that if you become a governor or Governor-General, you become a patron. I note that Governor Kim Beazley is a proud patron of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. They do fantastic work. All power to them.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am privileged to second this motion.

John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of this motion in relation to prostate cancer moved by the member for Perth. I've spoken to this chamber on previous occasions about the It's a Bloke Thing Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation based in my home town of Toowoomba that hosts fundraising and awareness activities to support prostate cancer research, care and education. I'm very proud to represent a community that, in this regard, now supports the largest daytime funding event in Queensland, through the Wagner It's A Bloke Thing Prostate Cancer Luncheon in Toowoomba. In 2018, our community contributed more than $2.23 million through that fundraising luncheon, now making this event one of the largest daytime fundraising initiatives in Australia. Who could possibly forget the surprise guest entertainer last year, Keith Urban, who flew in especially, breaking his program in the United States, to support this particular event, given his own family has been touched by prostate cancer, before immediately returning to the United States. The 2019 event will be held on 6 September at the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport.

I note the statistic in this motion that there is an estimated one-in-six risk of a male being diagnosed with prostate cancer by his 85th birthday. The It's a Bloke Thing Foundation also reminds us that 1.7 million men will be living with prostate cancer by 2030, 17,729 were diagnosed in 2018 and almost 3,500 men unfortunately lost their battle in 2018. But there is a 95 per cent chance of survival beyond five years if it is detected early.

The It's A Bloke Thing Foundation focuses on education. The Prostate Cancer Education Roadshow delivers critical information to rural communities, corporate organisations and public groups throughout regional Queensland, and the intention is to eventually expand that into New South Wales and the Northern Territory. In terms of research, It's a Bloke Thing has supported the peak national body for prostate cancer, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, for the past five years in a number of their research programs and in their care. Through a partnership with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, the funding of the first specialist prostate cancer nurse for the Toowoomba, Darling Downs and Darling region is now in place.

So, whether we discuss this issue from the perspective of Western Australia, as the member for Perth has in moving this motion, or, as in my case, from the perspective of Queensland and a program that is attempting to reach across northern Australia into the Northern Territory, this is a particularly important issue for us all to focus on. In line with the motion, therefore, I thoroughly endorse the fact that this House should acknowledge the tireless work of all men's health advocates, especially survivors such as David Dyke—mentioned in this very motion—and particularly those in my community: advocates such as Marcus Barnard and Angie Philp from ANZ, John and Maralyn Fitzgibbons from Fitzy's in Toowoomba, David and Kelli Russell from Wippells Autos in Toowoomba, John and Liz Wagner from Wagners, Gary and Melissa Gardner from FK Gardner & Sons Group, and Michael and Hayley Hubbard from MJH Finance, with Michael being this year's chair of the It's a Bloke Thing advisory committee, the members of which I have just listed. I thank and acknowledge them for raising awareness, alongside so many around our country, about prostate cancer and promoting the importance of men's health.

As the member for Perth has said, it is indeed vital that men take their health seriously. This is a bloke thing, but it's not just about us. It's about our families; it's about our communities. I therefore enthusiastically support this motion.

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I start by thanking the member for Perth for bringing forward this really important motion for discussion in our parliament. We don't talk about prostate cancer enough. As blokes, generally, we're really bad at looking after our health. We're not great at going and seeing the doctor. We're not great at booking in a regular appointment and making sure that we get a blood test to make sure that everything's okay. We tend to leave it all and just assume that everything's going to be okay or be too afraid to find out that something might be wrong with us.

It's particularly the case with prostate cancer. There's a misinformed view out there in the community that if you go and get a check-up to see if you've got prostate cancer then you've got to get a finger up the backside, and as blokes we say, 'Oh, we don't want that,' so blokes don't get checked up at all. The tragedy in all of that is that that's not true. You can get a really simple blood test. It's called a PSA test. You can get that test as part of your regular blood test that everyone should get once a year as part of checking on cholesterol, diabetes or anything else. Just check it out, particularly if your family has a history of prostate cancer and you're in your 40s. If there is no history in the family, you should be starting to do it in your 50s. That's what David, the gentleman in the video referred to in the motion, did. Just make it a regular part of looking after yourself to make sure that you're okay, because the key with prostate cancer is that in the early stages there are no symptoms, but if you can get it early enough then it's not a death sentence. So the key, to all the blokes watching and listening out there, is: go and get a PSA test.

I really want to thank the member for Perth for bringing forward this motion for the parliament to talk about. In particular I want to thank David Dyke, the gentleman who has produced this video that's available on YouTube. I encourage people listening to and watching this debate to click on that video and watch it. It's a very powerful, revealing, personal and honest story that will, hopefully, not only encourage blokes to go and get a PSA test but also help men who have just received a positive test to know what comes next, what their options are and what they can do. The video starts where David's just been told that his PSA levels are elevated and he might have prostate cancer. He goes and sees a specialist, they do a biopsy and they confirm that he does have prostate cancer. Then the doctor talks to him about what his options are and what all the potential side effects are; the side effects are real, and blokes worry about all those different things. David talks about it with his doctor, and, on the video, he tells people what he's up against and what he's got to do. We see the actual operation. We see the camera inside of him and how they remove the prostate cancer. We see all the rehabilitation as he goes through all the exercises to recover and return to a pretty normal life.

As I said, it's a really personal story but it's important to note that David is not alone. He talks about this being a lonely thing that he has to do himself, but, as the member for Perth and others have said, this is not something that happens to just one or two Australians. More Australians die from prostate cancer every year than from breast cancer. More than 3,000 Aussies will die from prostate cancer this year, and nine will die today. My grandfather died from prostate cancer. Your chances of survival are so much greater if you get it early. That's why taking the blood test, and incorporating it into your regular blood tests, is so important. Remember, David had no symptoms at all but the PSA test saved his life.

Every year we do a big barbecue here with the Prostate Cancer Foundation. It's coming up again in September. For the last two years, with Warren Entsch, the member for Leichhardt, we've extended that so that Pathology Australia can run PSA testing for us here in the building. Two years ago 50 blokes in the building did the PSA test. A couple of months later one security guard came up to me and said: 'Thank you for doing that. I've got prostate cancer.' It might have saved his life. Last year 200 blokes did the PSA test. A member of parliament rang me the other day and said: 'Thank you for doing that. I've got prostate cancer.' We've got to get the message out to as many people as we possibly can. Blokes, don't be worried about this; be worried about not looking after your health. Get the blood test and save your life. It's so important and so easy. Click on this video and watch how you can do it.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I also thank the member for Perth for bringing forward this motion for debate and for sharing Mr Dyke's story with us. It's a truly shocking statistic: nine deaths every day from prostate cancer, including, in the last couple of days, famous tennis player Peter McNamara. He was one of the two Mcs—Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee—who were so famous for winning all those tennis tournaments for Australia. Peter was just 64—my condolences to his family.

It is a very common story that so many families experience—one of their loved ones being taken from them too early. I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge a friend of mine, Katie Woolf, a radio presenter up in Darwin, who lost her father, Rod, to prostate cancer. She has done a heap of work in Darwin raising awareness and funds. Father's Day this year will be the fifth time that Katie and her team have organised the Run with Dad fun run at Darwin's East Point Reserve. If anyone happens to be up in Darwin on Father's Day, come and join in. The funds raised go towards extra prostate cancer nurses for the Top End. It is a great initiative, as is this initiative today from my friend, the member for Perth.

We think that our health as Australians is generally pretty good, but, as blokes, we do face a lot of challenges to our health. I've become even more aware of that in the last couple of years, working as an ambassador for men's health in federal Labor. A couple of years ago, we had a national male health forum, where we got a heap of fantastic advice on male health from experts around Australia. I say 'male health' because it's the health and wellbeing of young boys as well as that of men—all males. If we can start off with our youngsters appreciating the importance of regular check-ups, then they're going to be less likely to try to avoid GPs and more likely to get the tests that could save their lives. With young adult males, we know that we've got high levels of mental ill health and death from preventable causes such as accidents. Obviously, death by suicide is a major problem in our country, and we need to do more to battle it.

I note that the government has produced a national men's health strategy for 2020 to 2030 that aims to build on the 2010 National Male Health Policy, and I think there is a lot of common ground between the government and the opposition in this space. I would certainly be keen, as I know the member for Perth would be, to work constructively with the government. I think there's a lot that we need to do, though, to implement the men's health strategy. Strategies are good, but it's the implementation and the resourcing of those strategies that's really important. We need to make sure that we've got the policies right, particularly in rural and regional areas of Australia, because we know that ill health is a big problem there. We also want to make sure that we consult, keep consulting and keep consulting more with relevant communities about their specific health needs, whether it be First Nations communities, gay and bisexual men and their communities, or culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Wherever there are communities where we can do things better and in a more appropriate way, we should absolutely be doing that.

So my message to the blokes of Australia is: go and get your prostate check done. As the member for Blaxland said, by encouraging men to do that, you will, without a doubt, save lives—and that's a really important thing.

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join my colleagues in commending the member for Perth not only for raising awareness of this really important issue and bringing this motion forward but also for raising awareness about the fine work of Mr David Dyke and encouraging others to watch this documentary. As previous members have mentioned, prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Australia and more men die of prostate cancer than do women of breast cancer. There has been a very concerted effort to raise awareness of breast cancer and the early detection of breast cancer. The majority of men with low-grade prostate cancer can live for many years without symptoms and without it spreading and becoming life threatening, which underscores the importance of raising awareness and encouraging men to get their PSA tested.

Like many families around Australia, my family is not immune to prostate cancer. My dear father-in-law, Alfie Allen, died of prostate cancer in 2012. He never got to attend our wedding, but we are thankful for the small blessings, like the fact that he got to hold his great-grandson about a week before he passed away. Not a day goes by that we don't think about Alfie and that we don't remember him in a fond way, but his death really had a big impact on the family. He lived with prostate cancer for about a decade and a half. His brother, Ronnie Allen, has recently also been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent radiation and, thankfully, he's doing okay. But, like many families, we know that if you have a first degree male relative with prostate cancer you have a higher chance of developing it than men with no such history, and the risk increases again if more than one male relative has prostate cancer. Prostate cancer in my family in particular—in the case of my husband, David, both his father and his uncle have been diagnosed with prostate cancer—is something that we're very aware of, and so my husband has regular check-ups.

When I saw that the member for Perth had put this motion I took the opportunity here today not just to share the personal story but also to share with people out there just how important it is to have regular check-ups in the same way that women have regular check-ups for breast cancer. We go do our mammograms and we do our self-check-ups. Sometimes I think blokes are a little more hesitant to look after their health. Sometimes I think it's important for us women to give them a little bit more of a push to look after their health and to make sure that they are getting their PSA test and that they are going for regular check-ups. I know that my colleagues who have spoken here today have all spoken about their own reasons for raising awareness of prostate cancer. For me, I guess, as the wife of a man who has a high risk of prostate cancer because prostate cancer runs in the family, I'd like to put out a message to all the women out there to raise awareness among them of the need to encourage their male partners to have their prostate tests regularly as well.

If one does happen to get prostate cancer there are some great initiatives and support services in the community. These include groups and events run by the Cancer Council or the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and more visible initiatives such as Movember. My husband won't grow a moustache but he's quite welcome to grow a goatee during Movember in recognition and raising awareness of prostate cancer. Once again I commend the member for Perth for raising this really important issue and also those members who spoke before me about raising awareness of prostate cancer. I encourage everyone to continue to speak up about just how important it is to get those tests done and to look after men's health.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13:03 to 16 : 00