Breast cancer is often a shadow living on the shoulder of a large majority of Australian women.
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Treatments have come a long way but Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison doesn’t believe the state government is doing enough.
The mother-of-two shared her brush with the silent killer, and advocated for a larger investment in access and awareness campaign.
Earlier this year, Ms Aitchison spent 11-hours in surgery to undergo a double mastectomy and reconstruction at a Sydney hospital.
The local politician, said she had known about having breast cancer gene for some time but decided to have the surgery after a scan found malignant cells last year.
“My mastectomy was more than 18 months after my first positive scan,” Ms Aitchison said.
She added she had her surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital because she couldn’t find the right surgery in the Hunter region.
“These shouldn’t be the decisions that you have to make when you’re undergoing medical treatment,” the politician said. Research by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals 1 in 77 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer by their 85th birthday.
Ms Aitchison said the state government needed to allocate more funding for educational campaign and accessible services for regional communities.
“When it comes to emergency medical treatment, we are all on the same level. We want to see more funding for our public hospitals,” she said.
“This is one of the reasons why I fought so hard for the New Maitland Hospital to be public.
“I found out at age 37 that I had the breast cancer gene, and I was able to do something to reduce my risk by half.
“I have been able to have regular screenings but there are women out there who aren’t able to access screenings – then by the time they do, it’s late stage cancer and that’s the problem.”
In a letter she penned to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, the Labor MP called for an overhaul of the state’s health system.
“I couldn’t find a surgeon in the Hunter who could do my surgery and had to wait six months for a private specialist in Sydney.
“My mastectomy was more than 18 months from my first positive scan.
“Why am I telling you all this detail? Because I want you to know, first hand, what it’s like to be woman in regional New South Wales struggling with cancer and other ‘serious health issues’.
“I want you to fix our health system. Fund more screening for all women and education campaigns, and stop wasting billions of dollars on stadiums.”
