‘Time to strike down breast cancer taboo’

Begum Samina Alvi, wife of President Dr Arif Alvi, has said that with females in Pakistan making up half of the entire country’s population, it was high time taboos surrounding breast cancer were done away with.

Speaking at a breast cancer awareness seminar at the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industries (RCCI) on Wednesday, she lauded the Supreme Court for taking notice of the rising cases of breast cancer in the country.

Begum Alvi, who is leading the nationwide breast cancer awareness campaign, said that joint efforts against the disease would help save lives of thousands of women in the country.

A day earlier, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed during the hearing of a case had taken notice of the increasing number of breast cancer patients and ordered the availability of breast cancer screening facilities with female medical staff at all public hospitals.

Read SC order on breast cancer

Begum Alvi pointed out that the survival rate of breast cancer patients in Pakistan hovers around 45% mainly because of late diagnosis, while the global success ratio of surviving the disease stands at about 95-98%.

She added Pakistan had the highest rate of deaths related to breast cancer in Asia, with one in every eight women in the country at the risk of suffering from the malady.

Begum Alvi urged the women to practice self-detection and consult a doctor immediately on noticing any abnormality in their bodies. She enjoined the men to become pillars of support for women in their families suffering from breast cancer or in need of any kind of medical attention. President RCCI Chaudry Nadeem Rauf said that acknowledging the important role of women in society, the RCCI had taken several key initiatives to ensure their empowerment, including setting up business incubation centres.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2021.