Fehmida Mirza calls for spreading breast cancer awareness to remote areas
Zubair Qureshi
Atomic Energy Cancer Hospital, Nuclear Medicine, Oncology & Radiotherapy Institute (NORI), on Saturday organized a breast cancer awareness seminar under the slogan “Give Hope, Save Lives.”
The event was followed by an awareness walk here on Saturday. This was the second such event in the month of October (Pinktober) that the hospital had organized to raise awareness among women and men also, about breast cancer, how it can be caused, diagnosed, and treated.
Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination Dr Fehmida Mirza attended and addressed the seminar as chief guest.
While sharing her experience as a cancer survivor Dr Fehmida Mirza said, “We never realize its horror until it hits us.”
She shared how her fight against cancer made her realize that she should take up the issue at the Parliament being the Speaker of the National Assembly and that was when the awareness-related campaign started.
Dr. Fehmida Mirza stressed the need for awareness about breast cancer not only in women but also among male members of society and said three of her male family members got affected with breast cancer.
Talking about the need for Centralized Cancer Registry, the minister expressed concern on the alarming figures about Pakistan where only 10pc cancer patients were diagnosed at Stage-I whereas in developed countries the ratio of diagnosis at the early stage was 50oc.
Earlier, Director, NORI, Dr. Mohammad Faheem shared details about the newly added facilities at the hospital.
He shared the alarmingly high figures of breast cancer prevalence among women in Pakistan saying that Breast Cancer accounts for nearly 40 % of all female malignancies which is the highest in Asia and it constitutes 25% in both the genders”
Wife of Chairman PAEC, Mrs Muneera Naeem also stressed the need for early diagnosis being a key to cure cancer.
Cancer survivors including Member National Assembly (MNA), Shaheen Saifullah who is also Member of Patient Support Group NORI shared their experiences of fighting the disease with the help of NORI team. She said emotional support from the families could prove crucial for the patients.
She appreciated the dedication, patience and professional attitude of NORI doctors, especially Dr. Faheem, Dr. Humera Mahmood and Dr. Kashif.
On this occasion, Head Oncology Department NORI, Dr. Humera Mahmood in ‘Breast Cancer Panel Talk’ and shared very informative details about the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
