Cancer may affect anyone, the young and old, the rich and poor, men, women and children, and represents a huge burden on patients, families and societies.
This was stated by Dr Najeeb Niamatullah, Consultant Oncologist at Aga Khan University (AKU), who was speaking at a programme organised by the University Hospital to commemorate the World Cancer Day.
It was pointed out that cancer was a leading cause of death worldwide, particularly in developing countries, though many of those were avoidable. Dr Niamatullah termed the tobacco use as the single most important risk factors, and said that up to a third of the nation's cancer burden could be reduced by implementing known cancer-preventing strategies.
Other health care professionals from AKU also spoke at this programme. Section Head of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine Professor Javaid Khan said that if Gutka, Paan and Naswar consumption was counted, Pakistan probably had the world's highest ratio of tobacco use.
Dr Khan referred to research by the Cancer Society, which showed that almost 50 percent of all cancer cases in Pakistan were preventable. In his presentation, Dr Farhat Abbas, Consultant Urologist and Chief Operating Officer, cautioned against high intake of animal fat and red meat, and recommended that men over 50 undergo an annual digital rectal examination (DRE), and PSA blood test to detect the disease at an early stage.
He also advised intake of vitamin-E, yellow-coloured fruits, green leafy vegetables and tomato. Breast cancer has become a major health problem affecting as many as one in eight women, causing an increasing global burden.
Consultant Breast Surgeon Dr Nazia Riaz highlighting risk factors said that incidence of breast cancer increases with age, spreads rapidly during the fourth decade of life, slowing down in the fifth, sixth and seventh decades.
Other well-established risk factors include family history of breast cancer in first degree relatives (mother, sister, and daughter), late menopause, and first childbirth after age 30.
Dr Riaz strongly recommended screening tests for breast cancer such as mammogram, clinical breast examination and breast self-examination (BSE). Consultant Otolaryngologist and Head and Neck Surgeon Dr Shehzad Ghaffar warned that Paan, Chhalia and Gutka contained high levels of carcinogens.
He clarified that if use of those substances was discontinued even after cancerous signs developed, further deterioration might be prevented though the already formed changes would not revert back to normal.
As part of its outreach programme and societal commitment of creating awareness of early diagnosis and timely treatment, AKU has organised several awareness programmes, including over 250 in the signs, symptoms and care series in Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Nawabshah and the UAE, benefiting more than 50,000 people.
Similarly, Aga Khan University Hospital's Patient Welfare Programme offers financial assistance to those patients who are unable to afford the medical cost of their treatment. 73 percent of all patients treated at the Hospital are from low to middle-income groups. Since the programme's inception in 1986, Rs two billion has been disbursed to more than 310,000 needy patients.