Awareness drive credited for dip in breast cancer

First Lady Begum Samina Alvi said the ongoing breast cancer awareness campaign in the country is helping reduce the number of cases being reported at the advanced stages (third and fourth stages) of the disease but still more efforts are required.

"I feel pleasure when I see a commendable surge in first and second-stage patients seeking medical attention," she said while addressing an event after a cricket match on Monday.

She that the world overall had a 98 percent recovery rate from breast cancer, however, pointed out that in Pakistan, insufficient mammographic facilities led to a high mortality rate due to the detection of malignancy at a late stage.

Begum Alvi said that 44,000 deaths due to breast cancer in Pakistan was an alarming situation that needed raising constant awareness about early diagnosis of the disease. She emphasised the need for collective efforts in raising awareness about breast cancer especially through healthy activities to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

She also called for promoting awareness about mental health and well-being, as well as advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities to enable them becoming productive part of the society.

"These topics should be openly discussed throughout the year, whether it is breast cancer, rights of differently abled person or mental health," she said. "In this regard, we will need the support of not only the government but also the society as a whole," she said, adding that there was need to work for increasing the existing facilities in Pakistan.

Read: Alvi calls for spreading door-to-door breast cancer awareness

The first lady said that a five-minute self-examination every month could help detect breast cancer at an early stage, thus saving thousands of the lives of women in the country. She said that women of all ages including teenage girls of 12-14 years were also being diagnosed with breast cancer.

She urged the women and girls to learn the five-minute routine of self-examination and spread the word among at least 10 other women folks in their circle. She also got a pledge from all the participants to spread her message for the importance of mental health and rights of persons with disabilities. She said that with regard to the mental health, a mobile app "Humraaz" was being developed through with the people could seek guidance about their mental health.

She said that 24 percent of the total population was suffering from mental health problems but the number of related health professionals and psychiatrists was very low that needed to be increased.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2023.