Sound the alarm, Breast Cancer is reported to be rapidly increasing in young girls in Pakistan and now one of every nine women in the country is at the risk of this disease, said experts and researchers at the launch of Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) Pink Ribbon Campaign at the Government University Lahore. GCU Dean Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Prof Dr Khalid Pervaiz and HEC Regional Director Raza Chohan chaired the opening ceremony of the breast awareness campaign that is being launched in 19 universities of Lahore by HEC with the collaboration of Shuakat Khanum, PAEC Cancer Hospitals, GCU Quality Enhancement Cell and Pink Ribbon Pakistan. The objective of the campaign is to create widespread awareness about breast cancer and its high incidence, severity leading to fatality, impact on the life of sufferer and family and also spreading the good news if detected, the cancer can be cured.
Addressing the crowded launching at GCU Bukhari Auditorium, Pink Ribbon Pakistan national coordinator Aftab Omer said that the statistics show that Pakistan has biggest ratio of breast cancer in Asia and now the situation had become more critical as more and more girls were falling victim to this disease.
He dispelled the impression that only females are the victim of breast cancer. “There is one percent chance of developing this disease in men and hundreds of such cases have been reported throughout the world,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, GCU Quality Enhancement Director Iram Sohail said this Pink Ribbon Awareness Campaign would directly reach 60,000 girls of universities including Punjab University, Lahore College for Women University, Kinnaird College, University of Engineering and Technology (UET) and University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. She said HEC and Pink Ribbon would also hold technical lectures with the help of Shuakat Khanum in which students would also be guided about self-examination method. She said mobile medical units would also be sent to these educational institutions where female students and staff members would be examined and advised accordingly.
She said such awareness campaigns were emblem of hope for breast cancer suffers and for those who are endeavouring to fight this curable disease. Pamphlets and other awareness material about Breast Cancer were also distributed among the faculty members.
