Page 4196 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 24 October 2017
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As I stand here before you this morning delivering my last speech to this Assembly as an MLA, I am also a petitioner advocating for yet another medical issue that requires more understanding, more awareness, more prioritisation and more funding for research and development. It is not for myself that I am asking—my cancer is inoperable. But in the course of my journey so far I have become very much aware of how early diagnosis of liver cancer could help save many lives.
I have received detailed information from Associate Professor Simone Strasser from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital that I would like to summarise and share with you in the hope that all of you here in the Assembly and our local media will carry the message to our community. I will also endeavour to keep up my advocacy for as long as I can, not only for the thousands of cancer sufferers in our community but also for their families who are so important as hardworking carers providing love, support and hope.
Primary liver cancer is the most rapidly rising cause of cancer death in Australia, with death rates almost doubling in the last two decades. There needs to be increased awareness of the causes of liver disease, the role of early intervention and the role of screening programs in at-risk individuals. Treatments for liver cancer are dependent on the stage of cancer at diagnosis. Early diagnosis can lead to curative treatment and improved survival rates, but current diagnostic tests are crude and there is an urgent need to develop new diagnostic tools to diagnose liver cancer earlier.
The proportion of people developing liver cancer from non-viral causes is increasing, with the commonest causes relating to lifestyle factors, including excessive alcohol consumption or the presence of fatty liver disease related to obesity or, as in my case, type 2 diabetes. In summary, research funding to identify the drivers of liver cancer to understand the biology and develop new diagnostic and treatment strategies is critical, and I appeal for the sake of our broad community that more attention is paid to it.
Before moving on to other matters I would like to thank Canberra Times journalist Kirsten Lawson for her insightful handling in February this year of my sudden challenges with cancer and how our family was trying to cope. Also, my sincere thanks to Ian Meikle and Chris Coleman, who conducted an extensive radio interview on 2CC that did not shy away from tough, direct questions but was handled with sensitivity and hopefully assisted some people trying to cope with similar situations.
I thank my fellow Liberal members of the ACT Legislative Assembly over the past nine years, in particular my colleagues from the class of 2008—Alistair Coe and Jeremy Hanson. Life in politics is competitive and often cruel but also exciting, and it is a privilege for all of us to serve our community. It is for all these reasons that I single out Alistair and Jeremy; each of us from different backgrounds, each of us competitive and ambitious, have worked together, along with our fellow colleagues, to serve the common purpose. I thank them all for their ongoing support and friendship as well as their outstanding contributions to Canberra. It has been a privilege to work with you both and the rest of my colleagues in the Assembly.
To our other colleagues—Vicki Dunne, Andrew Wall, Nicole Lawder, Giulia Jones, Elizabeth Lee, Mark Parton, James Milligan and Elizabeth Kikkert—my very grateful thanks and best wishes to all of you, and a fervent hope that the Canberra Liberals will
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