‘90,000 new breast cancer cases every year’

Islamabad :In Pakistan, around 90,000 new cases of breast cancer are detected each year and 40,000 women lose their lives to this deadly disease, warned Chairman Shifa Foundation Dr. Manzoor-ul-Haq Qazi during the Foundation’s Pink Lady Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign ceremony here on Thursday.

The ceremony was held at Shifa College of Medicine and it included a women's walk as well.

Realising that Pakistan has a huge burden of breast cancer and early detection can save thousands of precious lives, Shifa Foundation, a non-profit organisation with countrywide presence, launched its Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in October to educate masses about the importance of prevention, early detection, and timely cure of the fatal disease.

During its awareness campaign, Shifa Foundation conducted a large number of cancer awareness sessions in educational institutions and the corporate sector alongside raising awareness in public through social and conventional media.

As part of its campaign, Shifa Foundation provided screening and treatment facilities to deserving breast cancer patients and distributed free and discounted mammography coupons.

Representatives of social and corporate sector organisations, print and electronic media personnel, senior consultants of Shifa International Hospital, volunteers, and supporters, who played an important role during the campaign, attended the ceremony. Cancer survivors, whose treatment was sponsored by Shifa Foundation, were also present at the event and narrated their survival stories to the audience.

Executive Director of Shifa Foundation Dr. Awais e Siraj, in his closing remarks, expressed that breast cancer is spreading in Pakistan and it needs to be controlled through collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, including government, social organizations like Shifa Foundation and media.

He thanked all participants, sponsors, donors and media for their unflinching support to the Foundation in achieving its goals of serving the underprivileged communities of Pakistan.

At the end, shields were presented to distinguished guests and certificates were distributed among participants and volunteers. Along with discounted and free mammography coupons, female participants also won breast cancer devices for self-screening in a lucky draw.

Shifa Foundation management vows that it would keep providing high quality and much needed medical care to the underserved people of Pakistan and they appealed that affluent individuals and organisations should step forward to join hands with the Foundation in the noble cause.