Month-long breast cancer awareness campaign chalked out

Awareness of prevention, early detection and screening is necessary to reduce premature mortality from breast cancer, the leading cause of deaths among all female cancer patients.

To create a social movement, Bangladesh Breast Cancer Awareness Forum and Rotary International District-3281 have planned a month-long programme in and outside Dhaka, marking this year's Breast Cancer Awareness Day on October 10.

As many as 1 lakh leaflets will be distributed as part of the nationwide campaign to help people learn about how to combat this threat.

A team of physicians from Dhaka will conduct day-long programmes from October 17 in nine districts -- Gazipur, Narayanganj, Barishal, Dinajpur, Bogura, Rajshahi, Khulna and Jashore -- to raise awareness, said Habibullah Talukder Ruskin, convenor of the joint organising committee, at a roundtable discussion at Jatiya Press Club yesterday.

This year's theme of the day is “Breastfeeding reduces risk of breast cancer.”

There is no survey done by any national organisation or the government, about people suffering from cancer.

However, the latest data from Globocan-IARC, an interactive web-based platform that presents global cancer statistics, 12,764 women are affected by breast cancer every year in the country. They account for 19 percent of all female cancer patients.

Every woman should check her breasts in the prescribed manner every month and if she suspects anything unusual, she should see a doctor right away.

In the third stage, a medical test called mammography/mammogram can confirm whether she has breast cancer or not, said Habibullah, department head of cancer epidemiology, National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital.

If breast cancer can be detected early, the  patient has better chances at having a normal life. She has to take follow-up treatment timely and do necessary check-ups, said breast cancer survivors and oncologists at the discussion.   

However, prevention should be the primary objective. Breastfeeding is one thing that both mother and child can be benefitted from, which is why campaigners will motivate mothers to breastfeed their offspring to protect themselves from cancer.

The campaign will continue till October, Habibullah said.

Aged women face higher risk of breast cancer. They should eat healthy and exercise in preventive measures, speakers said.

Those who are suspecting anything malignant inside their breasts can go to Community Oncology Centre, 7/9 B Block, Lalmatia, where upon registration for Tk 100, doctors will examine them without any charge and advise them what to do next to rule out the possibility or where to get treatment, following diagnosis at an affordable cost.

The services will be available throughout the month from today.