Mr. Speaker, throughout the month that is now coming to an end, a number of public events have been held to make people aware of the plight of over one million Canadian and Quebec women who have breast cancer.
I remind the House and the public that breast cancer does not strike only in October; but hits thousands of women every minute of every hour of every day, throughout the year.
For example, in 1997, over 18,000 women will develop breast cancer. One woman in nine will be diagnosed with the disease. Over 5,000 of them will die, including 15 today, in spite of all the efforts made in recent years.
Research and prevention are the keys to a better understanding of how to treat breast cancer. I urge the government to keep this is mind.