Breast cancer: Detection, treatment facilities in 7 districts planned: minister

PESHAWAR: KP Minister for Health, Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra Saturday said that the provincial government is committed to providing high quality treatment to breast cancer patients and detection facilities in seven districts of the province.

He was addressing an awareness session on Breast Cancer Early Detection Initiative held under the auspices of Public Health Association (PHA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in collaboration with the Institute of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine (IRNUM) here.

The event aligned the stakeholders around the continuous engagement needs to increase awareness about Breast Cancer, the importance of early detection and the availability of affordable treatment.

Breast cancer account for approx. 40, 000 deaths per year in Pakistan and is one of the leading cause of cancer related deaths among female. Every woman can develop Breast Cancer. The disease also occurs in 1% of male population. Breast Cancer puts a lot of financial burden on the families while affecting them both emotionally and psychologically. Lack of awareness, and early detection, social barriers and inaccessibility to the health care system is detrimental to the survival of breast cancer patients.

The risk factors include genetic factors like BRCA 1, 2 & p 53 gene mutations, female gender, growing age, high estrogen exposure, obesity, lack of exercise, stress, early menarche and late menopause etc.The speakers emphasized that majority of the women assume that Breast Cancer will not happen to them, while the stats point that 1 out 9 woman is at risk of suffering from breast cancer in Pakistan.

Any woman over 40 years, or having a family history of breast cancer should go for the Mammography test since early detection saves lives. Switching to healthy eating habits, regular exercise, maintaining a normal weight, and avoiding the use of over-the-counter medication, especially hormonal medicines is recommended by physicians.

Despite the fact that the World Health Organization Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) has set the target to reduce 2% breast cancer-related deaths per year worldwide, Pakistan lacks Breast Cancer control program. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the first province to initiate Breast Cancer Control Programme in Pakistan, which was initiated in 2020.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022