ISLAMABAD: First Lady Samina Alvi on Tuesday urged social media users to start an awareness drive to shine a spotlight on breast cancer and the physical and psychological scars left by mastectomies.
“Hiding the disease in the name of social taboo is not a solution, and it is essential for youth to speak upon it to help the women get early diagnosis and thus protect their lives”, she observed while speaking to a TV station.
She also reassured her resolve to continue organizing such awareness activities on breast cancer.
Alvi emphasised the need for sensitising women about self-examination and asserted that the disease not only affected the woman but also her entire family who she said then bears social and financial consequences.
Through effective use of media platforms, misconceptions in the general public regarding this curable disease can be rectified and wiped out, she added.
Alvi said women who recover from the disease could also play an important role in creating awareness among other women, adding that the majority of the population is in rural areas and not aware of such diseases where we need to focus.
“Breast cancer is the most common cancer globally and in Pakistan and we are committed to improving long-term disease control and survival for breast cancer patients”, she added.
The first lady said social media should become a part of the breast cancer awareness campaigns, adding the Internet could prove an effective platform for creating awareness about the disease and helping reduce the mortality rate in Pakistan caused by the illness.
