“The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) is seeing the diagnosis of about 90-100 new cases of breast cancer patients every month,” says Dr. Erum Najeeb, assistant professor and consultant breast surgeon at PIMS. Speaking during a breast cancer awareness session, Dr. Najeeb added that breast cancer is one of the top causes of cancer deaths in women in Pakistan.
“In Pakistan, nearly 90,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and about 40,000 die due to this condition. What is even more alarming is that in Pakistan, the age at which the patient presents with this disease is often younger, and it has reached advanced stage,” she stated.
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Dr. Najeeb, chief organizer of the Pink Fest 2024, mentioned how significantly tertiary care has transformed over the years at Islamabad-based facilities, including the PIMS. It has advanced to the level of including diagnostic and therapeutic equipment of the best standards, all at the cost of the government.
“They have been appointed, specialty-trained, foreign-qualified professionals,” she added. Thanks to these initiatives and a strong awareness campaign, there is a shift toward earlier-stage presentations slowly among patients, thus avoiding the need for mutilating surgeries and receiving less invasive treatments. PIMS handles more than 1,500 cases of breast-related issues monthly in its Surgical OPD.
It reports over 60% of women receive diagnostic and treatment services within timelines similar to global standards, which is likely to be improved with a dedicated cancer hospital under construction at PIMS.
The event started with an inaugural ceremony by PIMS Executive Director Prof. Dr. Rana Imran Sikander and was closed with a panel discussion with prominent clinicians such as Prof. Dr. Rakshanda Rashid, Prof. Dr. S.H. Waqar, Prof. Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed, Dr. Ayesha Isani, Dr. Humera Mahmood, and Dr. Ahmareen Khalid. Members of the Orthopedics unit too joined under the leadership of Dr. Asfandyar Khan.
In the session entitled “From the Patient’s Perspective,” a few survivors and current patients of breast cancer narrated their experiences in what was an empowering, healing, and hopefully therapeutic session.