Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the second-most-commonly-diagnosed cancer in Australia, with which around one in seven women and one in 600 men are diagnosed. Breast cancer treatment is most successful when the cancer is discovered early, and breast screening is the most effective way to do this.

Unfortunately, my electorate of Holt has one of the lowest screening rates in Victoria, with only one in two women having undertaken a breast-screen test. This is something I am determined to change.

The first part of this process is increasing awareness, which I am doing now. The second part is to make breast screens more accessible by continuing to work closely with the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network to provide more mobile screening centres in my electorate. I applaud the work of the National Breast Cancer Foundation in funding vital breast cancer research and supporting Australians during some of the hardest times of their lives. I encourage everyone in my electorate of Holt, especially women, to have a breast screen if they have not already done so.