Mr Speaker, if the Table Office will allow me, tomorrow, I will bring studies that I have done in US. That is why I rushed for his copy. I do not have it now. But it is attacking men. Breast cancer is attacking men.
Now, speaking about how to detect the breast cancer, I commend the Ministry of Health for deducing a very simple method whereby women can have their breasts screened themselves in their homes. But looking at cervical cancer which attacks the female organs, the detection is very costly and it is not as simple. In the hospitals, like previous contributors have said, we now have to detect it using either mammograms or pap-smearing, which is very expensive.
I did pap-smearing at a hospital in Tema and if I tell you the cost involved, I do not think our citizenry or the masses of people can contract this. So, by this, I would appeal to the Ministry of Health to come down by either -- like Hon Majority Chief Whip suggested -- that we divulge it to maybe, the district hospitals. This is because in the public hospitals, it is only at the teaching hospitals that you can have this. So, that is one factor. Detecting cervical cancer is not easy to come by because, not all women can have access to the mammograms and the pap-smearing that are used for detection.
In fact, it has to concern us, because in the studies made by Dr Wiafe -- who has taken upon herself to do this breast cancer, she alleged that Ghana is ranked tenth in the whole world among breast cancer cas- es and this should be very worrisome to the Health Ministry, to the Government, to the citizenry, to us as Members of Parliament and how we can help solve this problem.
I end on the note of lifestyles also, heavy alcohol intakes. Some lifestyles can also land us into this.
With these few contributions, I thank the maker of the Statement and thank you for giving me audience.
Mr Govers K. Agbodza (NDC --
Adaklu): Mr Speaker, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by my Hon Colleague. I think this Statement is very timely and important.
We all know that cancer cases in this country are becoming a problem. Where- as we know that some of these cancers could be genetic, which may be difficult to treat, I think much of it has got to do with lifestyles. I hear a lot of people talk- ing about-- we need to provide this, we need to do this. The fact is that, over the period, governments in this country have done something to invest in health- care delivery in this country.
But I do not think building more hos- pitals and equipping them is enough to stop the menace. Fortunately or unfortu- nately, certain cancers or most cancers are lifestyle diseases. In other words, if you notice, in this country, when you see your friend eat Banku in the morning, boiled yam in the afternoon and Fufu in the evening in big quantities and you decide to caution him or her, they tell you; “This is what our grandparents have done over the years and nothing happened.”
They have forgotten that the uncle in the village who ate Banku in the morning actually walked, maybe, five kilometers to the farm. By the time he gets there, he has probably burnt half of that and by the time he is back, half is gone. You ate Banku in the morning and the longest distance you walked was between your bedroom and your car. You came, for instance, sat in this Chamber for five hours and then walked back to your car. The longest exercise you have done in the day is less than ten min- utes and you still do not understand why we are more susceptible to contract these diseases than our parents or colleagues in the village.
So, just by saying that our grandparents eat Banku, Fufu and boiled yam and are
