MKRMS seminar: Delay in diagnosis main cause of death from breast cancer

FAISALABAD: Pakistan has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the world and the delay in diagnosis is the leading cause of death from the disease. It was said by health experts during a seminar organised by the Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (MKRMS) and Hemel Pharmaceutical Pvt Ltd at the PINUM Hospital, Faisalabad, on Thursday.

Addressing the seminar, Dr Muhammad Babar Imran, PINUM Hospital Director, said that the death rate from the disease could be reduced by raising awareness and adopting a healthy lifestyle. He said that if someone gets cancer, he should not give up hope as it could be cured.

Dr Babar said that if a woman or a man had symptoms of breast cancer, he should seek immediate treatment as it increases his chances of saving his/her life. He said that all kinds of facilities were available at the PINUM Hospital for cancer.

Dr Rafshan Sadiq in her presentation on breast cancer said that abnormal cells in the body cause breast cancer. She said that one man as compare to every 100 women was at risk of getting breast cancer. In addition, the risk of breast cancer increases with age, she added.

Other causes of breast cancer in girls include early puberty, infertility, use of hormonal replacement therapy drugs, radiation, obesity, unhealthy lifestyle, smoking and alcohol use, she informed.

Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society Chairman Wasif Nagi said that the doctors who treat cancer patients deserve more tribute than the doctors of other fields because of challenging environment in which they work.

He said that according to the World Health Organisation, there had been 10 million deaths from cancer in 2020. Pakistan had one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the world, he told.

Dr Usman Amin Butt, Hemel Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing Director, said that doctors around the world agree that breast cancer could be treated with timely diagnose. He said that the Hemel Pharmaceutical was conducting awareness seminars in different cities of the country and this series would continue in future also.

A panel of experts, including Dr Ijaz Khan, Dr Saira Zafar, Dr Isra Nawaz, Dr Muhammad Naeem, Dr Owais Gul and Dr Qamar Javed answered the questions asked by the participants of the seminar. Earlier, an awareness walk was also organised by the participants of the event.