Mr. Speaker, as part of the pink ribbon campaign to support breast cancer research, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all Canadians to increase their awareness of this insidious disease.
According to statistics provided by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, an estimated 17,700 women in Canada will develop
breast cancer in 1996, while more than 5,000 Canadian women will die from breast cancer this year.
All women are at risk for breast cancer. In fact, one in nine Canadian women will be diagnosed with this disease in their lifetime.
While women cannot do much about certain links to breast cancer, such as a genetic predisposition, research has indicated that there are a number of factors linked to the risk of developing this complex disease.
Let us show our support for breast cancer research.