Number of breast cancer patients may rise

Expert gives advice on diagnosis and treatment.


Express January 22, 2011

ISLAMABAD: There could be an increase in the number of breast cancer patients in Pakistan in the future, due to growing population, according to Dr Jo Anne Zujewski. She is the head of Breast Cancer Therapeutics from the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Programme of the National Cancer Institue (NCI), USA.

“A very large portion of the population in Pakistan comprises youth. Considering their ratio, a rise in the number of breast cancer patients can be predicted,” said Dr Zujewski while delivering a lecture at Kuch Khas on Friday.

She said efforts to reduce the incidence of the fatal disease in Pakistan were hindered by a number of factors.

Pakistan has the highest mortality rate for breast cancer in the world. While addressing her concern about this, she said it was because of the unhealthy lifestyle followed by most people as well as the late diagnosis of the disease, since the majority of women seek treatment when the cancer is in its last stages.

“On average, 90,000 cases of breast cancer are reported annually in Pakistan, of which approximately 50,000 survive,” she said.

She said all breast cancer statistics in Pakistan were an estimation because of the lack of systematic registration.

She explained that the main causes of its spread were obesity, lack of breast-feeding, poor overall lifestyle and environmental radiation.

“Cure is possible if the cancer is diagnosed in its early stages and the woman starts getting treatment immediately,” she added. However, she agreed that the treatment cost was too high in Pakistan. Regardless, she said, “The treatment cost gets higher as the cancer spreads and becomes more complicated, so it is better to get treatment in the early stages.”

She said screening was the best option for proper diagnosis.

Considering the level of poverty and the lack of health facilities in the country, she opined that vans equipped with mammography facilities should be used for screening in rural areas.

“Every hospital in Pakistan must have a mobile van that can be used to provide such facilities on a door-to-door basis, especially to women who cannot access hospitals or bear the expenses of screening,” she advised.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22nd, 2011.

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