Page 3515 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (11.02): I thank Ms Cheyne for bringing forward the motion today and providing the opportunity for the Assembly to have our attention drawn to this very personal matter for people and to discuss it here today.
Sadly, cancer and other serious diseases do not discriminate when it comes to age. They are always unexpected, often unavoidable and require seriously invasive treatment. For young people, or younger people, who develop a serious illness which requires an invasive treatment option like chemotherapy, radiation, surgery or hormone therapy, there is the risk of infertility. Chemotherapy causes egg damage and has various effects on the longevity of fertility. Radiation therapy can harm or cause scarring to a female’s ovaries or a male’s prostate. Surgery may remove parts of an individual’s reproductive system. Clearly, these treatments are severe, and it is clear that they will impede on a young person in their reproductive years in terms of their ability to have children.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and typically affects women, although some men can get breast cancer. Australian data shows that in the age cohort of 34 to 39-year-olds the incidence of breast cancer in women more than doubles, from 26.4 per 100,000 in 30 to 34-year-olds to 61.6 per 100,000. Further, in the age cohort of 40 to 44-year-old women, breast cancer is 133.7 per 100,000.
Data also shows that cervical cancer and testicular cancer affect females and males respectively at moderately higher rates from puberty onwards. As we know, there are a large number of other cancers and diseases that can impact someone at any stage in their life and may impact on their fertility. This demonstrates that young people can be at risk of developing a serious illness that can impact their fertility, due to either the nature of the illness or the treatment in response to it.
In addition, there is a trend in society today whereby young people are choosing to have children a bit later in life. Young people are granted a lot more choice these days. Women and men are prioritising their careers and other things ahead of children in their early adult years, thinking they have time. This is where I think the premise of Ms Cheyne’s motion has particular value, considering that the incidence of illness starts to increase from the mid-30s onwards. It would be an unfortunate situation that women and men who, for various reasons, have waited until a bit later in life to have children through no fault of their own are subjected to a severe illness and find that suddenly their choice to have a child is impeded.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer for women; luckily, it is also the most curable. While the treatment for the illness could incur fertility issues, if, prior to undergoing treatment, someone is able to engage with fertility preservation, they may well be granted the opportunity to choose to try for a child, should they wish to do so, once recovered and once having gone through their treatment process. We Greens believe that all women deserve the right to choose and control their own reproductive rights. This is a different angle on that question and others that come up most commonly, but it is an important factor to consider as we talk about these issues.
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