Nearly 90,000 Pakistani women diagnosed with breast cancer annually

ISLAMABAD: Every year nearly 90,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer with 40,000 losing their lives, assistant professor at Pims Dr Erum Najeeb said.

While speaking at Pink Fest 2024, Dr Najeeb said that every month 90 to 100 new patients are diagnosed with breast cancer at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Islamabad.

The hospital receives over 1,500 patients with breast-related issues every month in the Surgical OPD, she maintained.

She said that patients in Pakistan are much younger and are presenting in advanced stages, adding that breast cancer was a leading cause of cancer-related death in women.

“Foreign qualified specialty trained professionals have been taken on board. Due to these initiatives and robust awareness campaigns, there has been a slow but steady shift in patients presenting with earlier stages where patients are saved from disfiguring surgeries and less harmful treatments,” Dr Erum Najeeb said.

According to one report, more than 60 per cent of females are receiving diagnostic facilities and treatment within the timeframes set by international guidelines.

“This figure is expected to improve with the introduction of a dedicated cancer hospital under development in Pims,” the consultant breast surgeon at Pims said.