An estimated 42 thousand females in Pakistan fall victim to the deadly disease every year which is high among Asian countries.

Though it can afflict women of any age, it is most common among women over 40 years of age. Therefore, medical experts advise every girl and woman to conduct their self-examination every month. In case of any abnormal changes in or around the breast, they should immediately refer to the doctor so that the disease can be overcome before being develops into a grave issue. After maternal deaths, breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among Pakistani women and unfortunately, it is spreading rapidly in the country which can be gauged from the available data which shows that the highest rate in Asia is in Pakistan and currently it is being ranked 58th in the world. As the month of October is associated with Breast Cancer awareness campaigns, there are a number of seminars, symposiums, social media drives, and tv talks on the issue during this month.

One such comprehensive breast cancer awareness seminar was organized by the Department of General Surgery in collaboration with the Department of Health Professional Education at the Sir Syed Hospital campus Qauyumabad Karachi, where the health professionals and medical experts informed in detail about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of the deadly disease to educate the females, particularly the young women and girls about the disease so that they can also take care of this aspect in all women.  It was a good initiative as breast cancer is considered taboo in some sections of society due to which quite a good number of women do not consult doctors in the initial stages and remain silent. But with the good number of females and young girls educated on the subject, they will not only be able to carry out self-examination but also help other females around on the subject. 

The key Speaker Prof. Dr Sajida Qureshi, Head of the Department of General Surgery Civil Hospital Karachi, and a number of other medical experts and healthcare professionals addressed this day-long seminar while Principal Sir Syed College of Medical Sciences for Girls, Prof. Dr. Brig. Rtd .Muhammad Waseem Khan chaired the session . Dr Shireen A. A RamzanAli, General surgeon coordinated the entire seminar in a way to keep the participants involved in the sessions till the end. The audience included the doctors, nurses, paramedics, and medical students, who were also in attendance. Addressing the seminar, Dr Sajida Qureshi, laid special emphasis on the early diagnosis of breast cancer as early detection can help save lives. She lamented that the leading cause of the majority of the deaths of breast cancer patients is the late deduction of the deadly disease among them as women lack awareness about the disease and they ignore the earlier symptoms of breast cancer. She informed the participants that breast cancer is the most rampant kind of cancer among women in Pakistan and also entire of Asia as an estimated 44 percent of the total cancer cases comprise breast cancer and yet the awareness is missing among our females including the educated ones. She laid special emphasis on self-examination which can be done at home by the females themselves and told the young females how to perform it and also on other females in their contact and in their surroundings. She said that breast cancer deaths are high in Pakistan and other Asian countries as most patients approach the doctors in the later stages of the disease when it has spread to other parts of the body. Breast cancer in most women in Pakistan is diagnosed at the third or fourth stage which is too late.

The session ended on a note that collective efforts are needed to create awareness at all levels with a view to controlling the disease, and the chances of overcoming the disease are as high as 95 percent, in case of early detection and referral to the doctors. Collaborative efforts are needed by media platforms including print and social media, electronic media, seminars, and extensive sessions regarding the awareness campaign of breast cancer with special emphasis on self-examination and early detection. Other speakers said that over ninety thousand women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and this number will touch one lakh next year as it has been rising by around five percent every year.  Early deducting is also important as the treatment for those patients who visit doctors in later stages becomes tough and painful and they are required to go through more expensive, painful, and less effective procedures as compared to those who visit the doctor at the earlier stage. The seminar at Sir Syed Hospital Auditorium also shed light on the complications arising out of late referral to the doctors. The key speakers also presented and explained the available data pertaining to breast cancer, the early signs and symptoms and the various stages of the daisies and complications arising out of going to the doctor in later stages.

Quoting available data, the speakers lamented that it is mostly the third and the fourth stage when women consult doctors and at this stage, things become really difficult for the doctors to handle as it requires more tests, more expenses, and more time and for the patients, it becomes more painful. The speakers said that symptoms of breast cancer include pain, distortion of the nipple and inward sinking, lumps, discoloration, skin shrinkage, swelling, and sometimes leakage or any other change so having these symptoms means that the female should approach the medical experts at the earliest. During the question-answer session, the treatment procedure was also discussed like how the cancer investigations are followed by different treatment options like  surgery , chemotherapy (either before or after the surgery ) and radiation etc. Medical experts spoke about in detail on how and where to access assistance and help in case one is diagnosed with breast cancer.  During the question-answer session, the audience was also held which was really informative and it was told that some organizations like the Pink  Ribbon Pakistan Trust have also launched an exclusive app for breast cancer to crease and spread awareness and young educated females can use this platform to get information and pass the same to other females.