Breast cancer awareness drive begins

LAHORE

Addressing the inauguration of a three-day breast cancer awareness campaign by Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) at colleges and universities, leading actress Maya Ali has called for breaking social stigmas and myths attached to the women’s diseases like breast cancer. 

According to a press release issued on Wednesday, the three-day campaign began from Government College University Lahore with an awareness seminar which also addressed by oncologist Dr Kashifa Ehsan.

The seminar was organised by the GCU Quality Enhancement Cell in collaboration with the SKMCH&RC. 

“Girls, it’s your life, make a promise to yourself to take care of yourself.

And, the first step in this journey is that you must be aware about yourself,” Maya Ali told a large gathering of young female students at the university’s Bukhari Auditorium.

She told the students that in their youth they could not even talk to their parents about the feminine health issues due to lack of awareness. “But girls, you are really lucky that you are being given so much awareness about your health issues and life,” she said.

Maya Ali asked the students to work as volunteers in their families to raise awareness among their female family members about the breast cancer.

Addressing the seminar, GCU Quality Enhancement Cell Director Ms Iram Sohail said: “Breast cancer is not just a disease that strikes at a woman rather it strikes at the very heart of all those who are associated with us. Our children and our family etc.”

She said health and educational institutions were needed to be more focused and should come out with more awareness campaigns and seminars in a country where one in nine women were expected to be treated for invasive breast cancer.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Kashifa Ehsan highlighted that there is frightening increase in the ratio of breast cancer in Pakistan, and recent statistics show that every ninth woman in the country is at the risk of suffering from this fatal disease. She told the GCU female students about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and methods of self-examination which is very helpful in early detection of this disease in young girls and women.

In reply to question from a student, the clinical oncologist said that all women were at risk of developing breast cancer, while the factor that put some women at greater risk was family histories of breast cancer, non-healthy food and lazy lifestyle.

cardiac unit: Cardiac unit of Mayo Hospital has become operational where cardiac surgeon Dr Raja Pervaiz has conducted eight successful bypass operations within a week. 

According to a handout on Wednesday, Medical Superintendent Dr Amjad Shehzad in a statement said efforts were being made for maximum utilisation of treatment facilities of different specialties available in the tertiary care hospitals and for this purpose Secretary Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Punjab Najam Ahmad Shah took concrete steps to upgrade the cardiac unit of the hospital. 

Dr Amjad Shehzad said the Punjab government has provided a new heart and lung machine at a cost of Rs 80 million to the cardiac unit, which has been installed. Moreover, 100 angioplasty procedures of poor patients had been carried out free of cost during the last three months, on which Rs 20 million has been spent, the MS said and added that first time in the healthcare delivery system three cochlear plants have been inserted to the deaf patients in ENT Department free of cost. The market value of these three devises is Rs 6 million.

He said as per government policy and the instructions of the CM free treatment facilities are being extended to the patients in the hospital. New courses of allied health professionals are being introduced.

As a result of new initiatives and treatment facilities introduced in the hospital, substantial increase in the turnover of the patients in outdoor and indoor departments of the hospital has also been recorded, he added.

walk: A private hospital in collaboration with an NGO organised an arthritis awareness walk in connection with World Arthritis Day here on Wednesday. 

According to a press release issued here, the walk was held to create awareness among the public about arthritis as one in every third Pakistani suffered from some form of rheumatic diseases. It said these diseases not only affected the bones and joints but could also involve any organ system of the body, including the brain, heart, lungs, eye, skin, kidneys and nerves.

They affect all age groups, children, men and women. Today, due to great advancements in treatment of arthritis related illnesses, the patient could be saved from becoming disabled for life if they are diagnosed early and given proper treatment, the press release said.

Rheumatic diseases are the single largest cause of physical disability across the globe.

The health planners in Pakistan have neglected this field in favour of concentrating on infectious and cardiac diseases.

Meagre health resources do not permit allocation of funds to other ailments which can cause patients with arthritis to become disabled for life because of lack of centres for rheumatic diseases, it said.

It said the core objective of the division of rheumatology of the private hospital is to offer assistance to non-paying patients regarding diagnostic tests and treatment. The press release stressed the need for developing divisions of rheumatology in all government teaching hospitals.