GIVEN that early diagnosis is key to survival in breast cancer, it is appalling that Punjab, the country’s most populous province, did not until now have a public-sector screening centre for this type of cancer. Add to that the fact that Pakistan has the highest incidence of breast cancer in Asia with over 90,000 cases reported annually, the government has shown gross neglect on this score. However, in an instance of ‘better late than never’, that shortcoming in the health sector is soon to be addressed with the opening of such a facility at the Lady Aitchison Hospital in Lahore. Equipped with the latest equipment, such as digital mammography, the centre will cater to women from diagnosis all the way through to treatment. The medical faculty comprises lady doctors so the reluctance of many women in Pakistan to consult male doctors — thereby delaying diagnosis — will not be an issue.

If breast cancer is detected in the initial stages, say oncologists, there is 90pc chance of a complete cure. Often, surgery alone is enough to render a patient cancer-free. It is all the more tragic then that 40,000 women in Pakistan die of the disease every year. That is largely because less than 10pc are diagnosed in the early stages, while 47pc are diagnosed at an advanced stage, often detected in the course of ante-natal examinations for gynae-related problems. Women with symptoms of breast cancer tend to suffer in silence until it is too late. Cultural inhibitions prevent them from talking about it to family members or accessing medical help for a condition they do not realise is fatal if left untreated. Often it is a combination of both inhibition and ignorance that seals their fate. It is therefore vital that a vigorous media campaign accompany the opening of the new screening facility. Women, and men, must know that modesty and coyness in this case is foolish in the extreme. The taboo surrounding this killer disease must end.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2017