Mr. Speaker, April is Cancer Awareness Month.
Janice Goodridge was a loving wife and mother, a successful small business owner and a fiercely loyal friend. She was loved by nearly all. She made it clear that women could do anything they worked for, and she modelled work-life balance and service to others. Next week would have been my mother's 62nd birthday, but it is the 13th that we have spent without her. She had stage 4 breast cancer and passed away at 49. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her kindness, her smile, her love of shoes and her unconditional love.
Early detection significantly improves outcome, so I will use this opportunity to remind everybody to do routine self-checks, talk to their doctor if they have concerns and get screening and mammograms if they are eligible. It just might save their life.