Mr. Speaker, as we come to the end of Breast Cancer Month in Canada, I would like to draw the attention of the House to another disease which affects the lives of woman, albeit in a little more indirect way.
Prostate cancer causes a great deal of stress and suffering, yet there is relatively little public awareness of the serious nature of the disease. In B.C., for example, while the breast cancer rate is 30 per 100,000 population, the prostate cancer rate is 177 per 100,000. The corresponding death rates are 25 per 100,000 for breast cancer and 121 per 100,000 for prostate cancer.
Just as we need to find a cure for breast cancer, we also need to find a cure for prostate cancer. Every one of us has a father, just as every one of us has a mother. Prostate cancer affects us all.
I urge all members of this House to actively assist in the raising of funds for prostate cancer research and to help raise public awareness of the warning signs of the disease. Call 1-800-263-6750.