First Lady, Begum Samina Arif Alvi Friday highlighting significance of creating awareness among women against breast cancer said that disease is a silent killer as it creeps into other parts of the body if not detected at early stage.
She was addressing a breast cancer awareness creating seminar in Mingora, Swat. The event among others was attended by Professor Dr. Israr-ul-Haq and Principal Women Medical and Dental College Abbottabad, Professor Dr. Salma Aslam Kundi.
She told that according to data compiled by World Health Organization about one million women fall prey to breast cancer all over the world annually while the number of women mortalities in Pakistan due to the ailment is 40,000 annually.
She said that number of cases is far greater as majority of case were not reported due to social limitations and taboos adding our adverse behavior relating to fatal disease is also increasing complications for breast cancer patients in the country which is already facing meagre facilities to treat the disease.
First Lady also urged women folk to create awareness about breast cancer among females. Women should timely inform family members about any abnormality in their body, she said and added that early diagnosis is the only option available to treat breast cancer.
She said that women having a family history of cancer are more susceptible to disease while probability of disease reemergence is greater in women who were successfully treated. She also appreciated role of media in creating awareness against breast cancer and underscored the need of a liaison between Non-Governmental Organizations to aware people about breast cancer.
Begum Alvi also urged provincial governments to expedite their efforts to control breast cancer and improve treatment facilities for patients.
She also praised efforts of Saidu Medical College Swat, Women Medical College Abbottabad, Pakistan Medical Association and Women Medical and Dental College Swat for their efforts against breast cancer.
