At 52, Monique Bareham is described as a ‘powerhouse’ lymphoedema advocate, yet thirteen years ago her world was shattered by a cancer diagnosis. Like many who endure cancer treatment, she was left with lymphoedema. Her symptoms were immediate and severe enough to end her career.

Realising South Australia was the only state without a compression garment subsidy scheme and limited public clinics, Monique set about righting this wrong. By reinventing herself as a Lymphoedema Patient Advocate.

She became President of the Lymphoedema Association SA Inc., and established connections with the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer and the Flinders Lymphoedema Clinical Research Unit. Monique’s tireless lobbying and advocacy led to the launch of a South Australian Lymphoedema Compression Garment Subsidy Scheme in July 2020. In 2022 Monique was awarded the title of 2022 Australian of the Year, South Australian Local Hero and the prestigious 2022 Joy Noble Medal.

Monique is focussed on producing patient centred research which translates into positive patient outcomes and regularly collaborates as Chief Investigator (CI) in Australian and International Health and Medical research including MRFF (Medical Research Future Fund) Projects at FHMRI and SAHMRI. She is invited to co-author papers including a recent Lancet Publication on Breast Cancer Related Lymphoedema (BCRL). Monique is a sitting member of the South Australian Health Performance Council (HPC), SA Health Lymphoedema Advisory Group, MASCC Lymphoedema Steering Committee, FHMRI Consumer Advisory Board and PC4 Consumer Advisory Group. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Education and a Bachelor of Music (Performance) and enjoyed careers in Education and the Public Sector (management) prior to her cancer.

Monique remains a dedicated volunteer lived experience patient advocate and peer support for individuals affected by lymphoedema and cancer survivors Nationwide. Currently Monique is focussed on advocating for a nationally consistent approach to the management of lymphoedema and improvements in lymphoedema data collection Australia wide and is the driving force behind the first Australian Federal Parliamentary Friends of Lymphoedema Group launched at Parliament House, Canberra in March 2024.