I want to start by saying that the Welsh Conservative group and myself heartily agree with the calls found within this petition, and the fact that so many signatures have been received highlights the strength of feeling there is within Wales of the need to do much more to help those living with metastatic breast cancer. I want to thank Tassia and all those who have signed this petition.

As we've already heard, MBC is the leading cause of death in women aged 35 to 64 in the UK, and much more needs to be done to prevent the postcode lottery in accessing appropriate care. The fact that Wales has just one dedicated secondary breast cancer clinical nurse specialist is contrary to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on key workers for metastatic breast cancer. It's an appalling situation that leaves potentially hundreds of people without adequate support. Moreover, I also think it has a knock-on effect of creating the impression that those in power in Wales do not care for those living with MBC, which I'm sure the Minister will agree is certainly not the case.

From speaking with the petitioners, what struck me the most was that many of them felt that they had had to fight for their diagnosis, and they were continually being fobbed off in the build-up to that diagnosis, and that basic support and information was lacking after it. 

We have discussed the lack of and inconsistent distribution of nurses in the Welsh NHS departments and across health boards many times in this Chamber, and I'm fearful that this petition will fall on deaf ears and will be seen simply as another complaint to add to the list. But, I would urge the Minister to recognise that providing these specialist nurses should be more than just a tick-box exercise. Many people living with MBC are genuinely fearful for their lives every day, and having the correct support can drastically improve outcomes of living with MBC.

This petition is also asking for a national register of those living with MBC, because at present, there's an insufficient understanding of the national picture, which would allow for a more joined-up approach to providing care, and a better measure of the impact of interventions, and I cannot see how, with all the technological tools we have at our disposal, this hasn't already been done. I don't think even cost is an issue—I think it is more about the limitations of our health boards to find the necessary time and expertise to come together and design and implement models of data collection that will be able to provide suitable evidence to inform long-term diagnosis and treatment plans.

Minister, this is where you are asked to intervene. The community of those living with MBC needs your support. They need you to provide impetus to ensure that health boards are not missing easy opportunities to diagnose MBC and allowing those who are suffering to be left behind. Minister, if a national database was created, it would help improve the understanding of MBC amongst the population, and this certainly would help provide better treatment plans, help control and delay certain variants of the disease and relive symptoms, allowing people to live well for as long as possible. I urge everyone here to support the petition, and I urge the Government to implement its recommendations. Thank you.