‘First Dedicated breast cancer’ hospital to be functional in mid of 2020: CEO

ISLAMABAD, Oct 8 (APP):The chief executive of (CEO) Pink Ribbon Omer Aftab Tuesday announced that the first-ever dedicated breast cancer hospital in Pakistan would be functional in mid of next year (2020) to save lives of women with a state-of-the-art diagnosis facilities.

Talking to private news channel, he said there is a dire need to provide women with diagnostic facilities as early detection of breast cancer increases the chance of survival up to 90 percent.

He said Pink Ribbon Pakistan celebrates breast cancer awareness month every year in October, adding, ‘Pink Ribbon Pakistan’ was empowering young girls with the knowledge and techniques to detect breast cancer at early stages. He appreciated efforts of Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf government for sensitizing public about the disease at national level.

He said President Dr Arif Alvi has launched a comprehensive community-based education program to raise awareness about breast cancer in the country. He said approximately 90,000 new cases were diagnosed every year, out of which 40,000 died unfortunately.

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer among women and also causes the greatest number of cancer-related deaths among women.

The Pink Ribbon Hospital will be a state-of-the-art medical facility, he said, adding, it will serve more than 40,000 patients annually. The hospital will be partially operational by June 2020.
He said today the Pink Ribbon Foundation has managed to save countless lives through advocacy, consultation, campaigns, and government-backed awareness programs across the country.

The foundation has created a network of breast cancer survivors who can share stories of courage with women suffering from the disease, he added.
Omer Aftab said there is a gender dimension of health at a society as male health still took priority over that of women.

“If women are being diagnosed with breast cancer, they don’t even share the news with their family members,” said Omar Aftab.

He said this year the government, women cancer survivors, and groups are trying to draw attention towards the disease and break the silence surrounding it.

“Breast cancer does not affect women only, it devastates entire families. And that is why we need to stop thinking of it as a women’s health concern, and start looking at it as a national health issue, he said.
He said awareness, self-examination and the availability to see a doctor if a woman feels a breast lump, were key to women, especially in rural areas where they traditionally did not draw attention to their diseases owing to the families’ limited means.