James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Bowel cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Australia, with the disease claiming over 5,300 lives a year. For too long, this disease has been labelled as a killer of older people, when, in fact, each year in Australia, 315 people under the age of 50 die of bowel cancer, with over 1,700 diagnosed with early onset bowel cancer. I've spoken about this with several young women by the names of Stephanie, Tania and Rachel. They know that bowel cancer does not discriminate and that one is never too young to get it. Rachel was only 38 years old when she was diagnosed. Sadly, the incidence in young people of this cancer is rising fast, and it is only becoming more frequently diagnosed.

There are a multitude of issues that early onset bowel cancer sufferers face. Currently individuals face challenges both in identifying early onset bowel cancer and in accessing the required support when suffering from the disease and chemotherapy during the treatment stage. Now more than ever, it is time to recognise and react to a growing issue facing many young Australians. Now is the time to focus on things like prevention, early screening, early detection and normalising the idea that this cancer isn't just a killer of older Australians—that, in reality, it's a destroyer of all Australians, no matter their age.

The coalition is committed to fighting this deadly disease, and we are proud of the $27 billion investment in cancer control initiatives under the former coalition government. But we must do more, which is why we are advocating for people to have better access to regular screening checks and treatments across the country. We need to do more, and we need to do it now—not tomorrow, not next week and not next month. We need to take action now.