Samina Alvi calls for raising awareness to shun taboos affiliated with breast cancer

First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi, wife of President Dr Arif Alvi, has emphasised that with a 50 per cent female population, there is a need to shun the taboos affiliated with breast cancer to encourage women to seek timely medical consultation.

Addressing a “Breast Cancer Awareness, Differently Abled Persons and Women Empowerment Seminar” at the University of Karachi on Friday, she said one in every eight women in the country is at the risk of breast cancer, besides one woman falling victim to the disease every 13 minutes.

Expressing concern over the 40,000 deaths due to breast cancer in the country every year, she said it was the time for the women to realise the gravity of the situation and be concerned about their health. She said the survival rate of breast cancer patients across the globe was about 95-98 per cent compared with 45 per cent in Pakistan due to late diagnosis. The first lady, who is leading the nationwide breast cancer awareness campaign, urged the women to get to know the symptoms of breast cancer and practise every month the five-minute routine of self-examination. Early diagnosis is the best cure against breast cancer instead of the expensive and painful treatment at later stages of the disease, she said, adding that in Pakistan with 100,000 new cancer patients every year, breast cancer was most prevalent as compared to its other forms.

She added that a healthy lifestyle, balanced diet and physical exercise could improve the health of women and also contribute to minimising the chances of a fatal disease. She called upon men to extend support to women in their families suffering from breast cancer or in need of medical advice. A healthy and empowered woman could bring about a positive change in society, she reiterated. She asked that the women and differently-abled persons should get benefits from the business loans offered by the government and the State Bank of Pakistan.

Begum Samina Alvi thanked the media for supporting the cause, saying that the breast cancer issue was being given the space in broadcast and publications, besides the running of public service messages.

She apprised that provincial governments were also being approached for the cause. She mentioned that the work of compiling the data of infected patients of breast cancer would also commence.

She said that though October was marked across the country as breast cancer awareness month, the message needed to be spread persistently throughout the year. She called upon the students of the university to spread the awareness message to other women around them. Vice Chancellor Prof Dr. Khalid M. Iraqi also spoke and urged the students to spread theawareness message among other students.