Experts demand policy against cancer
Experts demanded a national policy to curtail growing cancer cases, in addition to stricter controls on smoking. They stated that 9.6 million people die of cancer annually across the world, with over 170,000 falling prey to it in Pakistan.
Addressing a cancer survivors’ meeting at Cancer Centre on Tuesday, acclaimed oncologist and Patron-in-Chief Cancer Society Multan Dr Ibrar Ahmed Javid termed smoking as one of the main causes of cancer in the country. He informed that the number of patients who survived cancer was greater than those who die of it.
Early diagnosis can help treating the disease easily, Dr Javid said, adding that the Cancer Society was doing whether it can to treat patients. Nishtar Medical University (NMU) Head of Oncology and President Cancer Society Dr Ahmed Ijaz Masood stated that they faced a lot of problems during the construction of the cancer centre, adding that one portion of the five-storey building was completed.
Dr Masood mentioned that state-of-the-art machines were installed in the centre and others are in the pipeline, adding that patients will no longer have to go to Lahore and Karachi for treatment after installation is completed. He asked philanthropists to contribute to the completion of the centre.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2023.