LARKANA, April 14: At present 13 cancer hospitals in the country are treating 350,000 cancer patients a year. This was stated by Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik, member bio-science and administration of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission while speaking at a seminar on “Survival Story of Cancer Patients” here. The seminar marks the silver jubilee of the Larkana Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy.

He said the PAEC had opened centres in big and small cities and setting up of five more was on the cards to facilitate cancer patients.

Dr Malik said cancer hospitals were being constructed in Gilgat, Nawabshah, Bannu and Swat.

He stressed the need for creating awareness in the masses about cancer to make them realize about the importance of early detection because if it was late the treatment become complicated.

He said the prevalence of breast cancer was the highest and at the same time it was very fatal.

He said arrangement for early diagnosis of the breast cancer had been made in cancer hospitals in addition of mobile units working in the radius of 200 kilometres.

He said the PAEC was doing tremendous work in the field of health and agriculture and 80 per cent cultivation of wheat comprised species evolved by the Nuclear Institute of Agriculture Tandojam.

He said the least use of pesticides was vital to control cancer under this very reason the alternate of pesticides and no pesticides was being used on sugarcane cultivated on 200,000 acre land.

He said levelling the land could check 30 per cent waste of water.

LINMAR director Dr Siraj Abbasi said the LINMAR was providing state of the art treatment facilities to cancer patients of Sindh, Balochistan and South Punjab.

He said modern science had proved that cancer was now not a threat to life.

“Cancer does not mean ultimate death,” he said.

He brought to rostrum nine cancer patients who survived the fatal ailment.

They included Sitara, Shehr Bano, Siddique Buriro, Aman Shaikh, Abdul Halim, Sakina, Alam Shah, James Alven and Wasand Oad.

He urged the media to convey the message to people that cancer was no more threat.

Medical Officer Dr Quratul Ain Soomro spoke on the occasion.

MPA Haji Munawar Ali Abbasi, Dr Asadullah Mahar and Dr Mehboob Ali Shah attended the function.

Earlier, Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik inaugurated the breast cancer diagnostic centre set up at the LINMAR.

KILLED: Four people killed a passenger, Khan Mohammad Balhiro, after dragging him down from a Mehar-bound wagon near Khairpurjoso here on Wednesday.