Follow our lead (From Penarth Times)

Follow our lead

WE note with a degree of cynicism the letter of Mr David Hughes (Penarth Times, March 9) regarding the debate about a postcode lottery for Herceptin to treat breast cancer.

We take issue on several accounts.

He is obviously unaware that women now make up half of the work force and as such have an equal right to voice opinion about how our taxes are spent.

Men do not pay a significant amount more than we women, who additionally undertake most of the home care.

He mentions that 36.8 million is spent annually on breast cancer treatment and only 163;9.7 million on prostate cancer treatment and whilst we admit a discrepancy, he fails to mention that the annual incidence of prostate cancer is two thirds that of breast cancer, according to Cancer Research UK.

A reason for women"s strength of commitment to research and treatment of breast cancer is that women are far more knowledgeable about their health, whilst men generally tend to ignore symptoms or are unaware of them.

Women take advantage of screening services whilst men do not unless we women push them to do so.

Men are just as entitled to get together as women to campaign for better services and they have only themselves to blame for not getting themselves successfully organised.

We agree the NHS is deeply in debt - which is all we agree with in Mr Hughes" letter - but suggest that men in general take more responsibility for their health and maybe learn a few lessons from we women who are not afraid to make our tax-paying voices heard.

At this present time we wish it heard that we supported the campaign for Herceptin and abhor the present post code lottery of treatment for any medical condition.

We respectfully suggest that recent letters from certain male complainants remind us of a television programme called "Grumpy Old Men".

16 tax paying women