April 11, 2006	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 12, 1427

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LAHORE, April 10: Cherie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has expressed her deep concern over the fact that most women suffering from breast cancer in Pakistan are dying without even consulting doctor.

Ms Blair, who herself is patron of the Breast Cancer Care in the UK, was speaking at the launching of Breast Cancer Awareness Programme at Fatima Jinnah Medical College on Monday.

She said awareness and early diagnosis could reduce the rate of death due to cancer in Pakistan.

She said the Breast Cancer Care was launched in the UK some 30 years ago and it has now completely transformed the situation of women. The women in the UK had been sensitised and they took care of the changes in their bodies.

She stressed that there was a dire need to tell women how they could examine changes in their breasts and body. “We are quite successful in creating awareness and reducing the rate of death due to breast cancer in the UK,” she said.

Saying that awareness campaign required more of individual efforts than money, Ms Blair urged doctors and medical students to educate every woman about breast cancer. “By creating awareness, we can help many women lead a quality life.”

Earlier, Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed said the incidence of breast cancer was quite high in Pakistan. It accounted for around 35 per cent of all cancers found in women.

He said 57 breast cancer cases per 100,000 were being occurring every year. Over 90,000 new cases were being reported in Pakistan every year and half of them in the Punjab.

In the West, he said 80 per cent breast cancer patients were cured because they were diagnosed early and provided proper treatment. In Asian countries, less than 50 per cent patients consulted doctors and sought treatment, he added.

The minister said there were only a handful of trained doctors and nurses. There were only four or five medical oncologists and some 16 radiology oncologists in the public sector. He lamented that there were only 500 beds reserved for cancer patients in the Punjab.

He said the government had recently upgraded three cancer treatment facilities in the Punjab.

Ms Rakhshanda, 40, explained her experience from diagnosis to follow-up treatment after surgery.

Punjab health secretary Javed Malik, FJMC principal Prof Akbar Chaudhry and Breast Cancer Awareness Programme coordinator Omer Aftab also spoke on the occasion.

The wives of the Punjab governor and chief secretary were also present on the occasion.

HISTORICAL SITES: Cherie Blair, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, visited historical monuments of the city on Monday.

Terming the Badshahi Mosque glorious, the Lahore Fort splendid and the Jahangir’s Tomb magnificent, Mrs Blair said the Mughal architecture was at its best in Pakistan.

“I have seen Mughal monuments in Turkey but it had nothing delicate like the Shish Mahal in the Lahore Fort. The elegance of the Badshahi Mosque is nowhere,” she told Punjab Archaeology director-general Oriya Maqbool Jan Abassi who accompanied her to the historical places.

Mrs Blair will spend another busy day in Lahore on Tuesday (today) before returning to her country.