Page 4971 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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which was Australian Breast Cancer Day. And Bosom Buddies, established in the ACT 16 years ago by local women, hosted an annual dinner, which Mr Hanson has already mentioned, “Celebration of Life”, on Australian Breast Cancer Day, for survivors, families and supporters.
Bosom Buddies volunteers do an extraordinary job supporting individual patients by working with the ACT specialist breast cancer nurses. They provide administrative support to the overworked breast cancer nurses. They make prostheses that specialist breast cancer nurses provide to surgical patients and coordinate the sewing of drainage bags by various consumer groups which breast care nurses provide to surgical patients. They deliver education about breast cancer to groups across the ACT region and host workshops for patients in treatment about ongoing support available in the ACT. And the volunteers provide a point of contact for patients to find out about all the information and support that are available to them.
Women who have engaged in the pink ribbon campaign and provide support to other women with breast cancer are wonderful role models for us all. As Dr Bourke has already said, many people in the community have been impacted by breast cancer; there are probably few people who do not know of someone who has died from breast cancer or survived it. My auntie died of breast cancer about eight years ago; that was an extraordinarily painful thing to go through. I also have a very close friend whose mother, auntie and grandmother have all survived breast cancer. That again goes to the importance of early diagnosis; if there is a history of breast cancer in someone’s family, no matter what your age, as a woman it is really important to be tested and to make sure: if you do have the gene, that is something you have to keep a very close watch on.
In conclusion, I thank Dr Bourke for bringing this issue to the Assembly today and I hope we can continue to improve the services provided to women with breast cancer. I move:
Omit paragraph (2), substitute:
“(i) the number of women who have lymph nodes removed because of breast cancer and then, as a result, develop Lymphoedema and require timely and ongoing access to the Lymphoedema Clinic at Calvary Public Hospital; and
(j) anecdotal evidence that the Lymphoedema Clinic has been unable over the last 12 months to meet the needs of women who have experienced breast cancer in a timely manner due to increasing demand on the Clinic and its limited resources;
(2) acknowledges and extends thanks to all of those involved in making Pink Ribbon month in the ACT such a success; and
(3) calls on the ACT Government to work with Calvary Management to:
(a) examine current and future projected demand for the Lymphoedema Clinic;
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