Samina Alvi for sensitizing society to control breast cancer

Samina Alvi for sensitizing society to control breast cancer
APP66-291021 LAHORE: October 29 - First Lady Mrs. Samina Arif Alvi addressing the Breast Cancer Awareness Seminar at Punjab University. APP photo by Mustafa Lashari

LAHORE, Oct 29 (APP):First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi Friday stressed the need for sensitizing the society about breast cancer so as to control this fatal disease in an effective manner.

She was speaking at a one-day seminar on ‘Breast Cancer Awareness; Women Empowerment; Persons with Different Abilities’ jointly organized by Punjab University (PU) Directorate of Students Affairs and PU Department of Social Work here at Al-Razi Hall of the varsity.

Begum Governor Punjab Perveen Sarwar, PU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmed Akhtar also spoke on the occasion. MPAs Sadia Sohail Rana and Sania Kamran, faculty members and a large of number of students attended the event, while Oncologist Dr. Umm-e-Kalsoom gave a presentation on causes and prevention of breast cancer.

Begum Samina Arif Alvi said that breast cancer is becoming an alarming issue of the world including Pakistan therefore it is need of the hour to create massive awareness among the people about this cancer so that it should not be taken as a stigma or social taboo of reluctance to discuss/disclose this disease with anyone. “We can overcome substantially this disease through massive awareness that will also help breast cancer’s early diagnosis having 98 percent chance of full recovery,” she maintained.

The First Lady said that in the past, women above 50 years of age were vulnerable to breast cancer but it is astonishing to note that today young girls and even the males are suffering from this disease, adding that in Pakistan, every eighth woman has breast cancer and according to a senior doctor, one woman is diagnosed with breast cancer after every 13 minutes. She suggested the women to take self-examination randomly for breast cancer before going to mammography, which is very costly and not affordable for every woman.

For self-examination for breast cancer, she added, they can get breast cancer informative videos available on the internet. “Healthy woman guarantees healthy society,” she remarked.

The breast cancer awareness campaign has gained momentum all over Pakistan during last three years and now people have started realizing that breast cancer is not a social stigma but a fatal disease. “I myself and Begum Perveen Sarwar are actively leading this campaign,” she said and asserted that all relevant public sector departments, various organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO), Green Star, Shifa International Hospital, Shaukat Khanam Memorial Cancer Hospital, atomic energy hospitals, Pakistan Army’s hospitals, educational institutions and NGOs working for women etc. are playing their due role in this regard.

Begum Samina Arif Alvi said that Pakistani society also needed to pay more attention towards people with different abilities by taking most care of this stratum to empower them and to make them useful citizen. Around 12 to 15 percent of country’s population consisted of differently able persons and ‘we all will have to work for their betterment.’

About women empowerment, she mentioned that First Women Bank, The Bank of Punjab and other institutions are providing soft loans to women and to persons with different abilities for various purposes including starting home-based businesses.

She, however, said that there is also dire need to create awareness among the women about this facility being provided by the present government.

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