Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remember that back on 22 October 1975 I was dropped off at the Lonergan's place and my mom went in to have my younger brother, Timothy. He was born and it was a joyous event. A couple of years ago on this day we stood around Timothy's bed as he succumbed to bowel cancer. It just so happens that today is the day that we bring attention to bowel cancer.

He left behind his beautiful wife, Cassie; and children, Max, Gracie and Molly. What a terrible indictment. For a long while he used to say that he had irritable bowel syndrome and he didn't quite know what was going on. He'd seen the ads on the television about irritable bowel syndrome. It was only after he got a second prognosis from a senior doctor, who said: 'It's such a terrible shame. If you'd had the proper check-up earlier, you would have a lot better chance, but right now you have stage 4 bowel cancer and its dire.' Tim fought on for a couple of years. He kept going to work, I think, until nearly a week or so before he passed away. It was an incredibly heroic effort. My youngest boy is Thomas Michael Timothy—Timothy in recognition of my brother.

So often in politics we get to wear on our lapel something that denotes an issue. They're all worthy causes, but this is a cause that's very close to my heart. I say to the Australian people that there are more people, unfortunately—although there should be no primacy of one being better than another—who die of colorectal cancer than die of breast cancer. I think a reason for that is that the much higher incidence of breast cancer has made it somehow less uncomfortable or has made people feel less awkward about getting checked. Get yourself checked. My mother had breast cancer, but she died from the effects of bowel cancer. My father had bowel cancer. My younger brother died of bowel cancer. There's a quote from Horace, which I won't give in Latin, that basically says you remember the things that make you laugh, so I say to you it's better to go to the surgery, have a little sleep and let the steel eel do the searching that might save your life than to feel awkward about something and then have your crying family around you at your bedside. Get yourself checked for bowel cancer.