ISLAMABAD: First Lady Samina Arif Alvi Wednesday terming as ‘alarming’ the 50 percent curability rate of breast cancer in Pakistan as compared to 90 percent in the developed world said awareness at grassroots level was important to address the grave health challenge.
Speaking as chief guest at a Breast Cancer Awareness Seminar here at Shifa International Hospital, the First Lady said sensitization of women to diagnose breast cancer at an early stage through self-examination could help avert costly medical treatment.
Samina Alvi said women in Pakistan were playing significant roles in society both at domestic and professional fronts and thus deserved good health as a basic pillar of their lives.
She urged women to be vigilant about the initial symptoms and risk factors of breast cancer as thousands of lost lives every year due to unawareness.
The First Lady, who was the forefront of the government’s campaign of Pink October in connection with awareness about breast cancer, called upon the health professionals, NGOs, and the general public to continue working on the issue with the same spirit beyond the limitation of the month.
She asked the private sector hospitals to cooperate with the government in expanding its project of free mammography scans.
CEO Shifa International Hospital Dr Manzoor H Qazi said 90,000 women in Pakistan were diagnosed with breast cancer every year of which 40,000 lost lives, which equates one death every 15 minutes.
Calling it a ‘national crisis’, he said around 3,000 patients were diagnosed with breast cancer during the current month of October alone.
He said only 6,900 scanning machines were available across the country which meant one facility for every six million women.
Radiation Oncologist Dr Muhammad Farrukh in a briefing about breast cancer’s risks and symptoms said ductal carcinoma can be detected one and two years ahead of the surfacing of breast cancer, which could save lives.
He mentioned that though it was a disease of advancing age, however, women below 40 were at 70 percent risk due to hereditary causes.
Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer in South East Asia as lack of data registry is a hurdle to primary prevention, he said.
Focal person National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, Ministry of National Health Dr Ayesha Isani Majeed said the Federal Breast Cancer Screening Centre at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) was providing free and walk-in facility of mammography without any discrimination of social strata.
She said breast cancer patients had around 95 percent survival rate if diagnosed at Stage 1, 90 percent at Stage 2 and 60-70 percent at Stage 3. Since Stages 3 and 4 are more common in Pakistan, therefore early detection is important, she added.
Chairman Board of Directors Shifa International Hospital Dr Habib ur Rehman also spoke on the occasion.
