First of a kind: Breast cancer clinic inaugurated at Pims

Disease has an alarming prevalence in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The first-ever one-stop breast cancer clinic was inaugurated on Wednesday at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad (SZAMBU).

Called the Breast Care Centre, it is the first dedicated public facility in Pakistan to provide awareness, detection and subsequent treatment of the disease.

At present, only Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, Lahore, and Agha Khan Hospital, Karachi, provide one-stop breast cancer clinic once or twice a week. However, both these institutes do not have a dedicated staff or centre.



The institute at Pims has a dedicated all-female staff for diagnosis and treatment as women hesitate to undergo an examination under the supervision of male staff.

Initially, the centre opened its ground floor for patients and has the capacity to provide outdoor services to between 100 and 200 people on a daily basis. It will also conduct daily awareness sessions of the disease.

Under the project, diagnostic machines, including ultrasound with elastography software, mobile mammography machines and a stereotactic mammography machine with biopsy facilities were bought in 2014-15. Some 500 women have already had their mammogram tests conducted.

They were referred for mammogram tests after screening camps in rural areas diagnosed between 40 and 50 of them with breast cancer. The biopsies of some are still underway.

“There is a lack of health professionals trained in clinical breast examination procedures and the centre is of immense importance to a country with an alarming rate of the disease,” said Dr Ayesha Isani, the associate professor of radiology and deputy project director of the breast cancer screening programme at Pims.

“Early detection can help save lives,” she said. “It is crucial to diagnose the disease at an early stage so that treatment is started without delay.”

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal inaugurated the centre and also led an awareness walk at the medical facility. Speaking at the inauguration event, he said it was unfortunate that Pakistan is among the countries where breast cancer is spreading rapidly.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2016.