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{
"id": 927003,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/927003/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri",
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"id": 124,
"legal_name": "Samson Kegeo Ongeri",
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"content": "uncontrollable manner, therefore, causing disease and, obviously, the kind of death that we are seeing here today. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are agents that trigger these mechanisms. I want to mention just one or two things. They could be chemicals or some of these pollutants that we see around us. There are so many chemicals that are now coming into the market, particularly in the agricultural sector, in our own houses, in fumigation and in meat preservatives. Particularly what we heard the other day, the metabisulphites, which are full if nitrites. These are positive causative agents of cancer. We need to understand that it is only by preventing these things that are around us that we can prevent the incidence and prevalence of cancer to the level it has reached in this country. It could also be molecular like in the case of those who are working in tobacco farms. Those who are exposed to tobacco leaves via the skin or those who chew tobacco, it could affect either their tongue, lungs or the throat. As I mentioned earlier, some could also be caused by viral infections. There are very few number of causes that are genetic or which are inherited from one family to the other. One of the things that I would have expected to see, Sen. (Dr.) Ali, is that there should be a representation of people living with cancer in whatever board there is. Yes, I agree that the county governments must now wake up and create cancer centres. However, I would have liked a greater emphasis on prevention, which you put much later in the Bill. This is because prevention has the potential of curtailing the incidents and prevalence of cancer to the extent we are seeing today. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we appreciate and understand that some of the gases that we are working with are dangerous. These days, we are working in mines where we mine coal and other substances to enrich ourselves. However, do we know that some of these gases are potential agents that cause cancer? There was a time when the roofing was made of asbestos sheets, and yet we would drink water from these roofs. That is a potential way of getting cancer. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need to look at the environment and the agents that cause some of these cancer problems. In the environment, we have gases, some of which are very innocuous. They may appear to be odorless, but they cause problems, particularly in areas where you have a lot of these other minerals that form radioactive substances. These might include lithium and many other elements that are able to fluoresce. This is particularly in areas where there are a lot of minerals that form the radioactive substances, I think lithium and many other elements that are able to fluoresce. These elements can produce odourless gas, which when one inhales, they feel that they are okay and yet, they are inhaling poison that causes cancer."
}