PTCL goes pink in support of breast cancer awareness

Islamabad :In a bid to highlight the need for greater awareness about breast cancer, the head office of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) was illuminated in pink Monday, with all its staff members wearing pink ribbons and apparel.

The activity was undertaken as a collaborative venture with Pink Ribbon Pakistan, which also organized a breast cancer awareness session the same day. A large number of female staff members, along with the female family members of the male staff benefitted from information on various risk factors, preventive measures, and early diagnosis of breast cancer to reduce the mortality rate and provide support to breast cancer patients.

Similar awareness session were conducted by female medical staff at the Regional Offices of PTCL, while an awareness campaign through the social media was also launched for all members of Pink Club of PTCL, which has solely been created to improve the health and well-being of all women working at the company. October is globally marked as Breast Cancer Awareness Month–PINKtober. One of the major concerns regarding breast cancer is lack of information, which ultimately leads to delayed diagnosis.

Speaking on the occasion, Syed Mazhar Hussain, Chief Human Resource Officer, PTCL said, “We are glad to be part of such campaigns as we believe that raising awareness about health issues is the first step towards developing a healthy society. We value the contributions of our female employees and are committed to their health. We acknowledge the positive role played by women, and as a socially responsible organization, urge them to spread awareness about breast cancer in their families and social circles.”

The Chief Executive of Pink Ribbon, Omer Aftab said, “A growing number of women in Pakistan are at the risk of breast cancer owing to lack of information. About 1.20 million women in Pakistan have a high risk of breast cancer in their lifetime, and almost 40,000 women die each year, yet there is lack of medical facilities for this disease.”

Omer shared that to cater the need of medical services for breast cancer, Pink Ribbon is building Pakistan’s first dedicated Breast Cancer Hospital, and the campaign needs ever more support to build this facility. He appreciated PTCL’s support for the cause, and said, “Such initiatives are sure to spread an effective message out to everyone.’’