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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-08-30 Daily Xml
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Daffodil Day

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (21:57): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges that 22 August 2023 is Daffodil Day; and

2. Commends the Cancer Council for its ongoing commitment to raising funds for cancer research, increasing cancer awareness and providing support to Australians diagnosed with cancer and their families.

Over 150,000 Australians are diagnosed with cancer each year. In our state, an average of 31 people receive this news each and every day and, for each of those South Australians diagnosed, there are likely several more lives that will be forever changed by the journey that follows.

For those who are fortunate to become cancer survivors, the disease still makes an indelible mark on them and on their loved ones. You would be hard pressed to find a person in our community whose life has not been touched by cancer. In fact, I would imagine that many of us here have multiple stories to tell of the brave battles fought, won and lost by our friends and family members, and that is certainly the case for me.

While cancer is an insidious disease, it can make us more resilient and it can teach us to appreciate the now more fully, but that is about the best you can say of such a cruel disease. For far too many people, cancer steals from us the precious years of life we hope to enjoy with those whom we hold most dear. However, the potential does exist to see a great deal of positive change. That potential lies significantly in the medical research field that will lead to better screening, earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments for cancers.

Today, around 70 per cent of people will survive for at least five years after a cancer diagnosis. That is a substantial increase from 51 per cent in the late 1980s, and it is cancer research that has produced a difference in these outcomes. We know that through further breakthroughs in research into prevention, screening and treatment, we can continue to improve on that 70 per cent figure.

Tomorrow, 31 August, is Daffodil Day, the Cancer Council's well-known fundraising day. The Cancer Council is the largest non-government funder of cancer research in Australia. They also support people in other ways across every area of every cancer, from providing a range of services to people fighting the disease to running education and prevention programs, and many things in between. The Cancer Council's work in supporting South Australians has a tangible and meaningful impact, and they have their sights set on a future in which all cancers are treatable, which is a very worthy goal to aim for.

I want to tell you a bit about the reasons why cancer research matters so much to me and my family. The reason that the Cancer Council and cancer research is so close to my heart is that about 18 months ago I lost my sister to cancer. An otherwise healthy woman in her early 50s, my sister had an episode at work, and upon seeing a doctor was told that she had terminal cancer that had spread throughout her body.

She fought the good fight but succumbed in the week before last year's election. Her passing has clearly had a big impact on our family, but a small, shining light out of this has been my family's increased dedication to supporting efforts to treat and, hopefully, find a cure. I must give a particular plug to my 11-year-old son, Will, who last month shaved his head to raise valuable funds for the Cancer Council. Along with dozens of other kids at his school who went the shave, they raised over $5,000 for charity, and I am immensely proud of him for doing so.

I am sure we all have similar stories about loss from cancer, and I for one am glad that charities like the Cancer Council exist to provide ongoing support for patients and for medical research. Please support Daffodil Day if you can. I commend the motion.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. L.A. Henderson.

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