“Cancer is one of the major causes of death among men, women and children of all ages in Pakistan,” said PMA president Professor Tipu Sultan at the Karachi Press Club. Keeping this in mind, the association has decided to launch a public awareness campaign in the next 12 months on the prevention of cancer.
The association will use the campaign as a platform to try and educate people about the availability of inexpensive vaccines against Hepatitis B and the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer.
They will also promote and encourage screening of cancers for early diagnosis and treatment. Conferences on cancer and its management in the country will also be held.
Special chemical agents used in different kinds of food can cause cancer, said Prof Sultan. “All over Pakistan, our industrial waste is drained without treatment and is mixed with drinking water through rivers, canals and wells,” he said. This means that the seafood that we eat is also toxic and possibly carrying carcinogens such as mercury, he added.
He said that the PMA feels there is an urgent need to analyse and assess the present cancer-related mortality and morbidity in the country.
Federal and provincial health departments should take immediate action to fight cancer, cautioned Prof Sultan, adding that the PMA is ready to help the government in all possible ways.
The health experts also discussed Gutka and chemically treated chalia, which is responsible for cancer of the tongue, throat, larynx and oral cavity. “Unfortunately these products are sold in front of schools and in their canteens, a trend that is responsible for the sudden increase of cancer in school-going children,” said Dr Ali Azhar, PMA secretary general.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.
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