Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I am glad to speak on this issue today. As with all types of cancer, prevention is better than cure but cure is available more than in previous times. What was absent from the speech of the Minister of State were the symptoms of bowel cancer. We cannot say this often enough. We have a forum for people to speak about bowel cancer and to encourage people to come forward if they have the symptoms. Having read the speech of the Minister of State, I still do not know what the symptoms are. We must use these opportunities to say what the symptoms are. We must keep saying what the success rates are, which are gradually improving for men and women. That addresses the main issue, which is fear. It does not make a difference whether one is a man or woman. If people think there is something wrong, the last thing they want to do is go to the doctor and be told there is something wrong, especially if they think it is bad news.

I remember we thought there was something wrong with my father when he stopped swallowing. He stopped having fries and we did not know what the story was. Then he stopped having other types of food and we did not know what was wrong. We all stopped having these foods when he did and only after a certain amount of time and when he could no longer hide it did we discover he had cancer of the oesophagus. We forced him to go to the doctor because we thought it might be a hiatus hernia but his attitude was that the doctor would get him under the knife soon enough. He left it too long and, unfortunately, he died of oesophagal cancer. I refer to the issue of fear and getting the message out that there are more successful treatments and a greater chance of survival if one gets there early. I have raised this on the Adjournment and on the Order of Business. The Government made a commitment to a personal health check in the programme for Government. We should revert to that.

I do not know if I have anything wrong with me. I almost go too hard and too fast in this job to stop. Sometimes when I stop I know I am very tired and blame everything on this. I might be as healthy as a trout or I may not be but I cannot remember the last time I was at the doctor. People should be encouraged more.

I went to college in Belfast and every two years I get a letter from a northern general practitioner asking me to come for a cervical smear. I must write to the GP to refuse a cervical smear. The GP must, by law, offer it and I, by law, must write to refuse it and explain why or else take it. We have a long way to go before everyone has that access to information. BreastCheck is still not rolled out in an area where breast cancer gets more of an airing than any other cancer.

I have an uncle who was a cardiovascular surgeon and I realise there are other issues. If I was to convey one other message today it would be that I hope the Minister for Finance will put a significant tariff on cigarettes today. Not all cancers begin and end with cigarettes but having done much work in the area, I know cigarettes have a very big impact not only on fatal illnesses but with regard to people having to live with very significant illnesses for long periods. This does not only relate to cancer but is also relevant to stroke and so on.

I wish the campaign well and I wish a colleague of ours and Minister of State, Deputy Tony Killeen, well. The more people who can talk about this issue, the better, and we will continue to advocate for early detection and prevention.