Unawareness about breast cancer is fatal in Pakistan

40,000 women die every year due to lack of awareness of breast cancer Samina, 38, was shocked when doctor told her that she has been suffering from breast cancer for three years and due to late diagnosis the disease spread into her bones making the chances of survival very slim.
Samina said that she is trying hard to fight the disease, at the same time she holds the doctors of her village responsible for failing to diagnose the disease in three long years. She is also concerned about her three kids too young to accept any bitter reality.
"I can't see the distressed faces of my children, I can't bear the fear that looms in their eyes, they know that with every coming day their mother is moving a step forward to death," Samina told Xinhua in a very low tone.
When Samina and all other patients of that gloomy medical ward for breast cancer patients, in Nuclear Medicine Oncology and Radiography (NORI) hospital in Islamabad, were told that October is being observed as breast cancer awareness month they murmured that the awareness message should be reached to every nook and corner of the country this year so that no other woman would die due to unawareness.
In a country like Pakistan where one in nine women is prone to breast cancer and around 40,000 women die every year due to lack of awareness of this disease. They come to visit oncology department of hospitals at a stage when the chances of survival are very remote.
Omer Aftab, National Coordinator of the Pink Ribbon, said that Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer among Asian nations. It is the most common malignancy in women, and accounts for 38.5 percent of all female cancer patients, with 90,000 new cases every year.
Talking to Xinhua, Dr. Humera Mahmood, Clinical Oncologist in ( NORI) Hospital Islamabad, said that October is observed as breast cancer awareness month in Pakistan during last five years where they invite young and professional women to attend lectures about breast cancer besides providing free medical examination.
"In spite of all these measures there is still a lot to be done, the awareness message only reach to urban and educated women, a large stratum of society comprises of rural women who remain unaware about the prevention and methods of timely diagnosis of this disease. We can't go to every place because of security reasons so the situation is getting worse across the country."
In a country like Pakistan where 0.57 percent of total GDP is spent on health sector and according to official statistics the number of registered doctors in the country is nearly 150,000 against a total population of over 180 million that indicates one doctor serves around 1200 people.
The ratio of female doctors, surgeons, oncologists and radiologists, etc, is far less than the above mentioned figure due to which the awareness of breast cancer is hardly possible in many rural and far-flung areas.
Many women, particularly those in rural areas avoid visiting doctors because they believe it is a social taboo to discuss this disease with a male doctor and there are few female doctors in those areas.
Talking to Xinhua, Dr. Javed Ashraf, a senior medical practitioner in a remote area, said that women usually do not visit male doctors because they feel hesitant in discussing the issue. So most of the breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a very late stage, and even after the diagnosis some women visit so- called spiritual healers for cure as a result most of them can't survive.
"Many women never fancy that they will suffer from breast cancer, even after the diagnosis they avoid visiting a doctor because of their poor financial condition," Ashraf told Xinhua.
He said that in rural areas, facilities for diagnosis of cancer patients are not available and they have to send the pathological samples to big cities.
Excessive consumption of alcohol is generally considered as the main reason of breast cancer but in Pakistan, where consumption of alcohol is banned by law and religion, less than 2 percent of women consume alcohol. There are various other factors that are responsible for the high ratio of breast cancer occurrence in Pakistan as compared to other countries.
Dr. Humera said that she receives over one thousand new patients of breast cancer every year. She said that a research is underway as Oncologists believe that certain environmental and genetic factors are also contributing to the high rate of this cancer in Pakistan but it is not the basic factor.
"Obesity led by intake of excessive fatty food is the main reason that makes Pakistani women prone to this disease as compared to women from other countries of the region where consumption of fatty food is far lower than Pakistani women," Humera said.
Doctors believe that women with family history of breast cancer are most likely to get infected. In Pakistan, marriage between cousins is a very common practice where one in every six persons gets married to cousin which makes more women prone to this disease.
Many harmful pesticides and herbicides banned in developed countries are sold and used in Pakistan. Harmful chemicals can linger in crops even after they are washed and cooked. They enter into blood making the overall body structure weak and prone to many diseases including cancer.