Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight in this adjournment debate to make a contribution on the Adelaide Breast Cancer Friendship Group. I wish to bring to the attention of the Senate the wonderful work of local groups like the Adelaide Breast Cancer Friendship Group and the benefits they bring to the community. The Adelaide Breast Cancer Friendship Group is a registered member group of the Breast Cancer Network Australia. Its key focus is to connect women, in a comfortable social setting, who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. The Adelaide Breast Cancer Friendship Group gives women at any stage of their early or secondary breast cancer journey the opportunity to come together for friendship, support and understanding.

The group is facilitated by two members, Jenny Marsland and Celeste Macleod: one who has experienced early breast cancer and the other who has experienced early breast cancer and now has metastatic breast cancer. This group is unique in the way that it is focusing on the psychological and emotional aspects of breast cancer diagnosis, and that this is dealt with in a social setting. It is allowing women to connect with others who have an understanding of what they have been going through. This group provides these women with the opportunity to talk, listen, laugh, cry and share their early or secondary breast cancer experiences with other women. Group members have the opportunity to talk to each other about their treatments, treating staff, good and bad experiences, emotional and psychological issues as well as the impact that their diagnosis has had on their family and friends.

The emphasis in this group is connecting with others. Their early get-togethers saw only two, three and four people attending. Today these numbers have increased significantly, and a recent get-together saw 26 people attend. They continue to report a steady flow of women joining the group, and the number of women attending these get-togethers continues to increase as the group becomes more well known. In the words of the facilitating members:

It was in September 2010 when a call was put out on the Breast Cancer Network Australia … Online Network to establish a breast cancer friendship group in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. Only one person answered the call at that time. It wasn't until 2012 that the [friendship group] really began to form. The group had changed its name from Breast Cancer Friendship Group—Adelaide Northern Suburbs to Adelaide Breast Cancer Friendship Group and recruited members through the BCNA Online Network.

Their get-togethers are now held fortnightly across various venues throughout Adelaide for a combination of lunches and dinners. Get-togethers are informal, which provides the women with a non-threatening and safe environment in which they are able to connect with other women who share their similar experiences. These get-togethers have occurred in the northern, eastern and western suburbs of Adelaide but, as the group continues to grow and the demand continues to increase, this year the group is extending these get-togethers to include the southern suburbs of Adelaide.

The group appeals to a wide range of women. The age of the women attending the get-togethers ranges from women in their 20s to women in their 70s and they come from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Jenny and Celeste say that new members sometimes feel nervous about attending their first get-together. This may be because new members may not know what to expect or because they may experience a lack of confidence due to the effects of treatment such as chemotherapy. To make themselves known to new members, a pink lady is displayed on the group's table to make it easier for new members to identify their group. New members and their families and friends are always welcome. The demand is building for groups like this. At a recent get-together two women drove for an hour and a half one way just to attend. Another woman drove from Port Pirie, a three-hour drive. Word is spreading about the group, and Facebook has become an important tool in promoting the group, recruiting members and communicating events.

The Adelaide Breast Cancer Friendship Group promote themselves through the BCNA online network, the Cancer Council website and Facebook. Celeste and Jenny also have business cards for the group, and information sheets are distributed to key people and key organisations like hospitals, clinics, shops and the Cancer Council. Word of mouth is bringing in new members. Members also connect with each other online through the Breast Cancer Network Australia online network to chat online; they connect through telephone calls and visits. The most popular way for members to connect between get-togethers is through the private and secure Adelaide Breast Cancer Friendship Group chat room on Facebook. This form of contact is thriving. Jenny from the group said today that there were now 91 members in their online chat group. Celeste and Jenny say it is satisfying to know that women are connecting with others and that they do not feel so alone on their breast cancer journey. They say it is also rewarding to see that lifelong friendships have been formed as a result of this group.

It is clear that there is a demand for groups like this. The work that the Adelaide Breast Cancer Friendship Group does to support women is inspiring, and I hope that they can inspire more groups similar to theirs to form around the country. In the words of the facilitating members:

We are a free service to the community in that we do not charge membership fees or fees to attend our get-togethers. This group is unique in that its focus is on the psychological and emotional aspects of a breast cancer diagnosis, in a social setting. While this group is not a formal therapeutic support group as such, it has been reported to have therapeutic benefits, not only to the members who attend but also to their families and loved ones …

Just a little bit of statistical information to give background to this extraordinary effort by these very courageous and extremely hardworking volunteers. It is estimated that in 2014, 15,270 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Approximately 42 women will be diagnosed each day in 2014. One in eight Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the time they turn 85. It is estimated that in 2020, approximately 17,210 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer diagnosed in women.

I have had some dealings with these excellent people, in minor supportive efforts with some business cards and the like. What struck me about these people is that, in their time of adversity, when they were going through extremely difficult circumstances emotionally, physically and in their family and social settings, they did not think of themselves; they thought of others. That is the genesis of this organisation. They reach out to other people because they have been through it. They have been through it and they have experienced extremely tough emotional and physical times. They have been to hospital and visited young women with an early diagnosis of breast cancer and helped them to understand what to expect in emotional and social terms. Their husbands have had to go and mow lawns and clean houses. This is the beautiful thing about this organisation of really decent and hardworking volunteers—in their time of adversity, they have reached out, pushed through that and looked to help others.

They are not only looking to help a small number of others; they are looking to grow in stature and size, not with the formal charitable not-for-profit structure but as a simple network of people who can come together in a social setting to comfort their fellow travellers and genuinely bring some decent, honest benefits to people in dire need. Some of the stories you hear are about the incapacity or inability of families to deal with the diagnosis. Family members do not always readily accept that someone in their family is no longer able to perform the function they performed for many years. That causes trauma in relationships. The people in this organisation have been through all of this and they are now reaching out to others in a most generous way.

They are extremely courageous people, having suffered physically—the two founders in particular—the awful effects of the disease. But they are able to be cheerful. They are able to laugh. They know where all the best wig shops in town are. Adelaide has plenty of those. Canberra, I think, has the online, and best, shop for prostheses. All of these things they are able to impart to people who are in the direst emotional straits, to lift their spirits and to show them the way ahead. They contribute in a way that is extremely inspiring to see. One thing about being a senator or a political person is that, when you come into contact with these groups, it lifts your spirits. This is a great country. We are a generous people, and people who experience dire adversity push through it and extend a friendly helping hand to others. I commend to the Senate the work of this group of volunteers.