I pay tribute to the many people who work tirelessly to eradicate this disease from our community. Whilst Northern Ireland is known for many things — we have lots of natural landscapes and iconic structures that automatically make us think of home — there is one building that will not feature in any of the advertisements, and it has already been referenced. It is nestled on the Lisburn Road as part of Queen's University, and it is the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research. The building is named for the former vice chancellor of Queen's University, who pioneered so much cancer research and tragically passed away in 2014.

How can we as legislators, from our different backgrounds and political views, support the researchers and clinicians who harness the ability to care for those with cancer and even cure what was once a death sentence? Cancer does not recognise political opinions or constitutional positions. The age profile of its victims is also indiscriminate, and, like other sicknesses, once it takes hold, it does so with relentless venom. A cancer diagnosis brings home one of the greatest fears that we as humans can have: to be told that our life might be limited. When people have cancer, they simply want to know whether they can be cured. Can they get rid of it? Can they get on with living rather than have to face dying?

Today's motion is welcome. It recognises that Northern Ireland is too small to challenge the scourge of cancer alone and understands that we are better when we work together to challenge cancer. The amendment suggests that we should work on a United Kingdom and all-island basis, and I take no issue with that. When I think of family members who received a cancer diagnosis, I would not have cared where the cure came from; I was just interested in them getting back to good health as quickly as possible.

Let us look for a moment at the reality of cancer. I will focus on skin cancer, the most common cancer across the North with over 4,000 new cases each year. The cost of treating the condition is £21 million per year and rising. At least 50% of skin cancers are preventable, yet the cost of treating skin cancer has increased 10 times in the last decade, due to the increasing cost of chemotherapy. Meanwhile, we have a skin cancer prevention strategy and action plan that expires in September. The previous Health Minister confirmed to me that the Department cannot review how effective that strategy was due to other pressing demands. It is anticipated that melanoma cases in the North will increase by 28% in the next 12 years, which will increase those costs by almost £4 million per year at least.

Where will the money come from to fund skin cancer prevention and the extra care that is needed? It is not missed to me that the motion comes from the party that has responsibility for finances and asks for better outcomes for cancer, which is managed by a strategy that is underfunded. We need to cooperate better and get the most out of those budgets. We know that the Patrick G Johnston Centre does groundbreaking research. Why can we not help to fund it, given that we do not do so at present? We have to do this to be able to fight cancer. If we focus on working with each other, as opposed to against each other, we should be able to help that fight against cancer. Let us get real about our budgets and do what we can.

All of us have known fellow MLAs, family and friends — kind, honest and compassionate people — who have died from this indiscriminate, conniving and cheating disease. As a personal reflection, in two weeks' time, it will be 29 years since my father died from cancer, which meant that, for most of my adult life, I did not know my father. That is a story that any one of us would be able to tell, because it impacts on us. Let us honour their memory and work together to end this disease once and for all.