When you speak to Professor Ayesha Isani Majeed, you can immediately tell just how passionate she is about her work. She is the head of Radiology and the head of the Federal Breast Cancer Screening Centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, where she has been working towards providing women with free screening facilities. And you can tell just how important her work is when you see what a big difference screening can make.

“Early detection leads to longer survival rates and reduced mortality and morbidity,” she tells Instep. The survival rates for Stage I and II breast cancer, according to the statistics she has shared, are above 98 percent and 95 percent respectively. But the numbers fall as the stages advance. Stage III has a survival rate of 60 to 70 percent, while Stage IV sadly sees a further decline to below 50%. “[Unfortunately,] in our country, women usually come with Stage III and Stage IV cancer. Screening can help us detect the cancer at Stage I and Stage II [which vastly improves the prognosis].”

Women are encouraged to monitor their breasts by performing self-examinations and also getting clinical examinations wherein trained health professionals – like nurses, lady health workers, general practitioner, and specialists – physically check the breast for lumps and changes.

Breast screening tests are also highly recommended. Below the age of 40, ultrasounds are advised, while women over 40 are suggested to get mammography. “Recently with younger women getting breast cancer, the American College of Radiology has advocated that mammography can be started at 35 for those who are at high risk and have family history,” Dr. Ayesha informs.

To help women with this testing, the Federal Breast Cancer Screening Centre offers free screening facilities all year round, six days a week, and the centre hopes to continue its work while raising awareness regarding the importance of screening for early detection.

“Pakistan has a higher rate of breast cancer than any other Asian country,” Dr. Ayesha says. “One in every 9 women suffers from breast cancer. According to the Global Cancer Observatory, 34,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer [in Pakistan every year], a number that will double in 2040 to 64,000. The establishment of a ‘one stop breast clinic’ is the answer to the cultural, financial, mental, and physical needs of the women of Pakistan, so that triple assessment can be performed by a surgeon, radiologist, and pathologist under one roof in a single visit. We aim to make the Federal Breast Cancer Screening Centre a role model for other such similar centres in different districts of Pakistan so that this lethal disease is eradicated at the grassroots level.” We hope, for all our sakes, that they manage to achieve just that. – S.A.