Silent killer: ‘40,000 women die of breast cancer annually’

Speakers stress importance of raising awareness about disease.

FAISALABAD:

At least 40,000 women in Pakistan die of breast cancer every year, the highest fatality rate in Asia.

The fact was highlighted by participants of an awareness seminar at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), in collaboration with Shaukat Khanum Hospital Lahore on Wednesday.

Dr Urooj from Shaukat Khanum Hospital and UAF Assistant Professor Dr Fatima Mustafa and Dr Naureen Rana were the key speakers. Hundreds of women students participated in the seminar at the Iqbal Auditorium.

Dr Urooj said that proper screening and early treatment could reduce fatalities. “If it is detected at an early stage, chances of survival increase manifold. So people should be given awareness for early detection of breast cancer,” she said.

“Unlike most countries, young women are more frequently reporting breast cancer in Pakistan. The disease is becoming the leading cause of cancer deaths among women,” Dr Fatima Mustafa said.

“Literacy, education and access to information can play a vital role in raising awareness among women about this killer disease,” Dr Naureen Rana said.

“The disease has become one of the leading causes of deaths in the country. We should all take preventive measures against it,” she said.

Communication seminar

A seminar on communication skills was held at the UAF on Wednesday.

The experts stressed the need for effective communication skills among students to help them compete with rest of the world.

Besides the students, the seminar titled Email and SMS Writing Skills was attended by Dr Muhammad Asif from Riphah University, UAF Senior Tutor Prof Dr Aslam Pervez and UAF IT Director Farjeel Javed.

Dr Pervez said that all efforts were being made to provide state-of-the-art facilities to the students.

“Effective communication is a tool to ensure that the students have a bright future. The teachers should polish the communication and creative skills of students,” he said.

Dr Asif talked about writing official emails. “Proper communication skills enable a person to achieve his desired goals in professional life. The students must be able to use modern communication resources, especially the internet,” he said.

Farjeel Javaid said that the world had become a global village because of advancement in information technology.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2014.