ISLAMABAD:President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday urged the country’s chambers of commerce and industry to become partners in the breast cancer awareness campaign for encouraging women to conduct regular self-examination and seek medical advice for early diagnosis of the deadly disease, which could lead to complete cure and enable patients to live a healthy life.
The president expressed these views during a meeting with senior representatives of various chambers of commerce and industry. First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi was also present during the meeting.
Representatives from the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI), Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), Rawalpindi Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RWCCI) and Attock Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI) attended the meeting.
Moreover, the representatives of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) virtually participated in the meeting, a press release issued by the President’s Media Wing said.
The president said Pakistan had the highest rate of breast cancer than any other Asian country, as around 90,000 cases were diagnosed every year in the country.
He added that early detection and proper treatment could save many precious lives, as almost 98% of breast cancer cases could be cured if diagnosed at an early stage.
President Alvi emphasized that all the chambers of commerce and industry could play a vital role in creating awareness regarding the breast cancer and its prevention by conveying the message of self-examination and diagnosis across the country in the industries under their purview.
“Shops, malls and commercial centers could be used for displaying awareness messages, brochures and other relevant materials in this regard,” he added
The president also suggested that the homepages of the websites of chambers of commerce and businesses could be used for promoting the cause of breast cancer in an effective manner.
He said no social stigma should be attached to the breast cancer awareness campaign and patients should be motivated to share the symptoms immediately with family members. Spreading the message of self-examination for the early detection of breast cancer should not be considered as a taboo, he added.
The president called upon the media houses to repeatedly telecast and convey messages regarding the importance of self-examination in their morning and talk shows to create awareness among the general public.
This campaign should specifically focus on women in underprivileged areas, he added, and underlined the need to distribute the list of hospitals, basic health units and other such facilities offering free-of-cost screening and diagnostic facilities.
The president highlighted that this year, Mrs Samina Arif Alvi would also lead the campaign for countering malnutrition among women and would coordinate with the relevant organizations and NGOs for the provision of supplements to the unprivileged women so that they could meet their nutrition needs.
He also stressed the need for setting up telemedical facilities to increase the outreach of qualified doctors and health providers to women across Pakistan, especially in rural areas, to educate them about breast cancer and the importance of early diagnosis of this disease.
He underscored that awareness could save huge expenditures, which were likely to be incurred on providing treatment if the diagnosis was made during the 3rd and 4th stages of the breast cancer.
The president also welcomed and appreciated various proposals given by the representatives of the chambers.
He especially commended the idea of fully equipped medical vans and ambulances to be sent to the rural areas, small towns and villages for providing information and conducting initial screening and providing medical advice.
President Alvi also appreciated the call-caution tone being played by the telecom companies from October 1 requesting the women to carry out self-examination and seek medical advice in case of any unusual growth.
He also urged the chambers to assemble teams headed by medical doctors to visit schools, colleges and universities to create awareness about the disease among the students and request them to spread the message to all their families.