❓ A WA parliamentary question regarding the prevalence of melanoma in WA, government efforts to reduce and treat it, and whether the Department of Health will consider research on cannabis as a potential treatment.
AnsweredQoN 1039Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
MEDICAL
CANNABIS — MELANOMA
1039. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer the minister to a recent study published by
researchers at RMIT University in Victoria, with input from colleagues at the
University of Western Australia, looking at constituents and derivatives of
cannabis sativa as an effective treatment for patients suffering from melanoma.
(1) How common is melanoma in Western Australia?
(2) What is the Cook government doing to reduce and better
treat melanoma cases in our community?
(3) Will the
Department of Health consider this latest research and its recommendation that
cannabis sativa constituents and derivatives
are strong candidates for ongoing evaluation as a potential treatment for the disease?
CANNABIS — MELANOMA
1039. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer the minister to a recent study published by
researchers at RMIT University in Victoria, with input from colleagues at the
University of Western Australia, looking at constituents and derivatives of
cannabis sativa as an effective treatment for patients suffering from melanoma.
(1) How common is melanoma in Western Australia?
(2) What is the Cook government doing to reduce and better
treat melanoma cases in our community?
(3) Will the
Department of Health consider this latest research and its recommendation that
cannabis sativa constituents and derivatives
are strong candidates for ongoing evaluation as a potential treatment for the disease?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the
question.
(1) In 2019, melanoma was the second most common
cancer for both males and females in Western Australia , with 953 cases
for males, representing 12 per cent of cancer cases for men, and 681 cases for
women, representing 10.9 per cent of cancer cases for women.
(2) The Western Australian government continues to
fund the ongoing management of melanoma cases through its support of the
statewide multidisciplinary WA Kirkbride Melanoma Advisory Service—WAKMAS.
In addition, each major teaching hospital in Perth has its own skin cancer
multidisciplinary team clinic that manages referrals within these hospitals.
The
Future Health Research and Innovation Fund is the state government's
primary vehicle for the provision of health and medical research and innovation
funding. To date, $1.84 million has been awarded to research in which
melanoma is the primary focus. This includes support for two new clinician
researchers in the area of melanoma research: one at South Metropolitan Health
Service and another at the University of Western Australia. The WA government
is assisting the Cancer Council with ongoing SunSmart campaigns to prevent
melanoma.
(3) The
Department of Health supports and facilitates the use of safe, high-quality and
sustainable medicines and health technologies
for Western Australian patients. Consideration of relevant research is part of
this function.
question.
(1) In 2019, melanoma was the second most common
cancer for both males and females in Western Australia , with 953 cases
for males, representing 12 per cent of cancer cases for men, and 681 cases for
women, representing 10.9 per cent of cancer cases for women.
(2) The Western Australian government continues to
fund the ongoing management of melanoma cases through its support of the
statewide multidisciplinary WA Kirkbride Melanoma Advisory Service—WAKMAS.
In addition, each major teaching hospital in Perth has its own skin cancer
multidisciplinary team clinic that manages referrals within these hospitals.
The
Future Health Research and Innovation Fund is the state government's
primary vehicle for the provision of health and medical research and innovation
funding. To date, $1.84 million has been awarded to research in which
melanoma is the primary focus. This includes support for two new clinician
researchers in the area of melanoma research: one at South Metropolitan Health
Service and another at the University of Western Australia. The WA government
is assisting the Cancer Council with ongoing SunSmart campaigns to prevent
melanoma.
(3) The
Department of Health supports and facilitates the use of safe, high-quality and
sustainable medicines and health technologies
for Western Australian patients. Consideration of relevant research is part of
this function.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.