Chairperson, new figures show that breast cancer rates have doubled in 20 years, although this serious disease dates as far back as ancient Egypt.
The worrying factor is that breast cancer is wrongly labelled as a women's disease. Much ignorance exists about the fact that men, too, get breast cancer. Even though the disease is 100% more common in women, a greater proportion of men than women die from breast cancer.
I hereby appeal to the Department of Health to embark on a programme to create greater awareness of breast cancer and to educate the community about the fact that breast cancer is common among both men and women. Men should be encouraged to be wary of this cancer and educated on how to test for it. We call on the public to take regular mammograms, especially men between the ages of 60 and 70 and women between 50 and 65 years of age.
To those fighting cancer: Our prayers are with you. I thank you.
Order! Can we have some order in the House, please? Please be seated, hon members.