Public health: ‘Pakistan’s breast cancer patients reporting late’

She said according to Globocan (a World Health Organisation project that provides estimates of the incidence of, mortality and prevalence from major types of cancers) breast cancer was the second most common cancer in the world.

She said women were affected by it more than any other type of cancer, with an estimated 1.67 million new cancer cases diagnosed in 2012, amounting to 25 per cent of all cancers.

She said it was the most common cancer in women in both developed and less-developed regions.

“Breast cancer ranks as the fifth cause of death from cancer overall. It is the most frequent cause of death from cancer for women in less-developed regions. It is now the second cause of cancer deaths in developed regions as well.

In developed regions, there is a higher likelihood of survival because of early detection, through successful population-based screening programmes,” said Masood.

She added that lifestyle changes, awareness programmes and high risk population should be prioritised in Pakistan to prevent cancer. She said these efforts could detect cancer early, thereby increasing chances of a cure.

INMOL Director Dr Abu Baker Shahid said the institute had been serving cancer patients for the last 30 years. He said nearly 4,000 cancer patients registered every year at the INMOL, out of which 35 per cent suffered from breast cancer.

Consultant Radiologist Rafia Shahzad said “One in nine women is likely to suffer from breast cancer. In Pakistan it is diagnosed late and affects younger women. Roughly, 50 per cent of the women with breast cancer in Pakistan die without seeking treatment.

About 40 per cent of women use alternative medicine before coming to a doctor”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2014.