Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday we welcomed lymphoedema advocates to Parliament House, including the South Australian Local Hero of 2022, Monique Bareham, and the CEO of Lift Cancer Care Services, Lauren Whiting from my electorate of Boothby. Lymphoedema is a chronic condition. It's an insufficiency of the lymph system in collecting fluid from the body and returning it to the circulatory system. The collection of fluid causes swelling in the affected body part, causing heaviness, aching, and decreased mobility. Swollen skin can leak and crack, and infections take hold from even from a small scratch.

Lymphoedema can also be caused by surgery or radiation for cancer treatment. Prevalence in breast cancer survivors is up to 20 per cent, up to 30 per cent in melanoma survivors, up to 50 per cent in head and neck cancers, and up to 47 per cent in gynaecological and prostate cancers. It can also be caused by obesity or age, with estimates of 30 per cent prevalence in nursing homes. Some children are born with primary lymphoedema.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare last year released a report that they called Towards an estimate of the prevalence of lymphoedema in Australia, reflecting that we don't know how many people are living with this condition. The data simply is not collected. Advocates are seeking a national lymphoedema register and the inclusion of lymphoedema questions in the integrated assessment tool for aged care. Thank you to all of those who came to educate us on this important issue.