Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Dr Sharmila Farooqui said on Saturday that the death rate among the breast cancer patients in Pakistan has risen to an alarming level of 48%, which needs to be reduced by taking effective and efficient steps.
“There is a need to initiate nationwide doortodoor awareness campaign to tackle breast cancer disease across the country. The people should not feel any shame or hesitation while discussing this disease as it is deadly and very dangerous,” she said in a statement issued on the eve of the International Day Against Breast Cancer annually observed on October 19.
Sharmila said that the early diagnosis ratio of breast cancer in the world is 98%, however, in Pakistan most of the cases are reported at third and fourth stages where the death chances are high.
She informed that over 80% of breast cancer cases reported annually have no family history of the disease, and approximately 70% of women in Pakistan receive a latestage breast cancer diagnosis. She emphasised that women between the ages of 40 and 70 are at higher risk.
She urged the health authorities to ensure women’s access to screening and early detection services to tackle this deadly disease besides prioritizing disease control activities, including improved treatment and individual patient care. Many people with localized or regional breast cancer survive for 20 years or longer after receiving a diagnosis and treatment, she said.
Sharmila said that new technology should be used to tackle breast cancer as the technological advances in imaging are creating new opportunities for improvements in both screening and early detection. Sharmila said that the federal government should increase the health budget in the country up to 4% of GDP that is currently only 1% of GDP. The provinces should also raise their health budgets, she advised.
The number of earlystage breast cancer cases had almost doubled in different hospitals of the country. Almost 100,000 cases of breast cancer are reported yearly in Pakistan and 50% of women die every year due to a lack of awareness about its symptoms.
She called upon the hospitals to hold free screening camps to detect breast cancer in women at the earliest stages for reducing the high mortality rate in Pakistan.
She urged the women to learn how to selfdetect the disease to ensure its timely diagnosis and treatment, adding that women should make a habit of selfchecking for five months every month to minimise the death rate.