JAMSHORO: To mark the International Breast Cancer Awareness Day, the Department of Surgery, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Jamshoro organized a public awareness walk at its campus today.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor LUMHS Prof Dr Ikram Din Ujjan informed that breast cancer poses a serious health risk to women throughout the world. He said that more than one million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. It is estimated that 1 in 9 Pakistani women will develop breast cancer at some stage of their life.
He said in developed countries there are national cancer registries where every newly diagnosed cancer patient is registered. This is very helpful to understand the epidemiology and causative factors of cancer.
The VC said several studies and reports suggest that among Asian population, Pakistani women have the highest risk of breast cancer and it is a high time that drastic action should be initiated to educate the society for the prevention of the disease by regular screening through mammography.
Chairperson Department of Surgery, Prof. Ambreen Munir expressed that breast cancer awareness month is an international health campaign that lasts the whole month of October and is intended to increase awareness of breast cancer.
She added that mortality in breast cancer can be prevented in 1/3rd of women if routine mammography is done in women over 40 years, hence the longer a woman lives the lower is her risk of breast cancer, therefore, a 50 year old woman who has not had breast cancer has 11% chance of having it, whereas a 70 year old woman who has not had breast cancer has 7% chance of having it.
Prof Ambreen Munir further informed that Pakistan alone has the highest rate of breast cancer than any other Asian country as approximately 90,000 new cases are diagnosed every year out of which 40,000 die.