50,000 women die of breast cancer annually in country: Begum Alvi

LAHORE:First Lady of Pakistan Begum Samina Alvi on Wednesday said it was important to overcome shyness and certain social taboos to control mortalities among women due to breast cancer.

Speaking at an awareness seminar in connection with the Pink Ribbon month at Governor's House here, almost 50,000 women die of breast cancer in the country every year, she stated.

She said due to social customs, women hid their physical ailments. They must be educated to discuss and ask questions about the breast cancer rather than becoming its victim, she said. The awareness seminar was arranged by Mrs Parveen Sarwar, wife of Punjab Governor Muhammad Sarwar.

Mrs Maryam Mirza, wife of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, also attended the ceremony. The first lady said the girls must be educated at an early age not to ignore even minor ailment, otherwise, they might suffer from breast cancer.

She said a family fell apart when a mother died. Breast cancer is completely curable, if diagnosed at an early stage, she added. Begum Alvi said the mortality rate due to breast cancer was quite high in Pakistan and the South Asia as compared with other parts of the world.

She advised the women that whenever they visited their gynecologists or family physicians, they should ask them to have their examination for the breast cancer also. She urged the participants to educate women in villages and far-flung rural areas of the country so that nobody died due to lack of knowledge about the breast cancer.

The first lady called on the women parliamentarians to create awareness among female voters in their respective constituencies on the pitfalls of breast cancer. It was their added responsibility as a woman to save lives, she added.

She urged the private hospitals to provide mammography services at an affordable rate to the poor patients. She also called upon the media houses to arrange special programmes on breast cancer.

The morning shows could be dedicated to create awareness among the people, she added. Mrs Parveen Sarwar pledged to work for creating awareness about the breast cancer in the far-flung areas of the province.

Earlier, Dr Amna Sohail of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Dr Huma and Dr Maryam briefed the participants on various aspects of breast cancer and the ways to treat it.

They said the use of hormones and excessive antibiotics in livestock, poultry and dairy products were among the reasons for rise in breast cancer cases, besides familial ties. Power theft: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Lahore, Wednesday detected electricity theft at a restaurant in Samanabad.

According to the FIA spokesman, a team of FIA raided the restaurant in Samanabad and found electricity theft. The FIA team is conducting raids to arrest the restaurant owner.