Mr. Speaker, with breast cancer awareness month drawing to a close and our attention turning to other causes, it is essential that we not give up the fight.
This illness is devastating for victims, their families and their friends. I myself lost my mother to breast cancer five years ago.
It is estimated that, every 30 minutes, someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, that one million Canadian women are afflicted and that over 5,000 of them die from this illness annually. These statistics are a reminder to us of the importance of prevention.
We must continue to support agencies providing assistance to those with breast cancer, and also to make women aware of the importance of these preventive examinations.