KARACHI: The older a woman gets the higher their chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer, said President of Pink Pakistan Dr Zubaida Qazi.
According to a press release, Dr Qazi was speaking at an awareness session organised by her organisation for the Sindh government employees to highlight the importance of early detection in the treatment. The session was attended by provincial secretary GA, SGA & CD Muhammad Hanif Channa and his team in the Sindh secretariat.
The president of Pink Pakistan told the attendees that most women might not have any identifiable risk factor before developing breast cancer.
“There are certain conditions and lifestyles that may increase the chances of developing breast cancer. However, the general risk is that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. The older a woman gets, the higher the chances of developing breast cancer,” said Dr Qazi. A unhealthy lifestyle can also “predispose women to cancer”, she added.
“Smoking, drinking of alcohol, and being overweight increase the chances of a woman developing breast cancer. In addition, people who have taken certain estrogen pills as a form of contraception have increased chances of developing breast cancer,” said the president of Pink Pakistan. She also shared that the most common symptom that will indicate that a person has breast cancer will be swelling, commonly referred to as a breast lump.
Dr Qazi said the Pink Pakistan mobile app, available for Android and IOS, can help early detection.
“Once a woman notices a lump in the breast, she should consult a physician to confirm if it is breast cancer or not,” Dr Qazi urged.