Troubling diagnosis

Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2024 has come to a close, leaving in its wake a series of events held across Pakistan to bring attention to the challenges of breast cancer. However, as pink ribbons and awareness campaigns recede, we are left with stark statistics and an urgent question: How can we turn awareness into action in a country with one of the highest breast cancer incidence rates in Asia?

Pakistan's breast cancer statistics are troubling. Each year, an estimated 40,000 women lose their lives to breast cancer, and nearly 90,000 new cases emerge. These figures represent mothers, daughters and sisters whose lives are irrevocably changed by a disease that could often be managed, or even prevented, with timely intervention. Yet, a large percentage of breast cancer cases in Pakistan continue to be diagnosed at advanced stages, reducing the chance of survival. Over 63% of the population wrongly believes that mammography and biopsies cause cancer due to radiation, and a surprising 39% attribute breast cancer to the evil eye. Such pervasive misinformation deters women from getting screened, leading to diagnoses at Stages III or IV when treatment becomes more difficult, costly and less effective. The cultural stigma around breast cancer, coupled with a lack of education, continues to prevent Pakistani women from seeking timely screening. Another challenge is the myth that breast cancer is only hereditary. For a country where 34% of registered cancer patients are of breast cancer, this gap in understanding is unacceptable.

It is clear that awareness alone is not enough. Pakistan's healthcare system must address these deep-rooted misconceptions through sustained, community-based educational campaigns that reach beyond urban centres. Health professionals, religious leaders and community influencers should be engaged in the fight to dispel myths and promote the importance of regular mammograms.