ISLAMABAD, FEB 17 (DNA) – Serena Hotels hosted a panel discussion on Breast Cancer Awareness Women Healthcare, under Raabta, a public diplomacy initiative by Serena Hotels. In an effort to create awareness on a topic that is of significance to communities, Serena Hotels brought together leading experts in the field of oncology to share information on the seriousness of the health risk posed by breast cancer as thousands of women lose their lives to breast cancer annually in Pakistan, the lack of awareness and cultural taboos that leads to late diagnosis and the options and path to treatment.

Mr. Aziz Boolani, CEO Serena Hotels, said, “Raabta is the culmination of the value that Serena Hotels can bring to society. The convening power of Serena allows us to bring together experts, policy makers and the interested citizenry to inform and engage individuals and organizations in advancing debate, create knowledge and develop a wider appreciation of complexity of socio-economic subjects”.

He added, “Pakistan has committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals the address the root causes of poverty and the universal need for development that works for all people. This movement towards a sustainable and inclusive future addresses peace, prosperity, and wellbeing for people, and preservation of our planet and at Serena we have created the various diplomacy initiatives to promote talent, preserve arts, crafts and culture, support and facilitate sports and now inform. Women’s health is an important thematic areas and it is fitting that breast cancer awareness is one of the first conversations Serena has initiated under Raabta”.

Dr. Azmina Tajdin Vali Mohammad, consultant oncologist Aga Khan University Hospital said in her keynote address, “Treatment of cancer happens at the tertiary level, prevention and early diagnosis present a far lower economic, psychological and physical burden. It is our responsibility to go out and create awareness about cancer and breast cancer for early diagnosis”.

Ms. Sidra Iqbal, curator of Raabta, said, “One in 8 women is at risk to face breast cancer in her life – this brings breast cancer into our lives and homes”.

Dr. Razia Bano, Head of Breast Surgery Unit at CMH, said that people in Pakistan come into the hospital for medical consultation at a very late stage. A majority of the patients that she had seen came in at stage three of cancer.

Dr. Arif Malik, Director Surgical Services, Shifa International Hospital shared various statistics about breast cancer comparing the global figures to the statistics for Pakistan. He also dispelled the common myth that having mammographies will cause a build-up of radiation in the body, saying, “The modern machines have minimal radiation, patient should check that he technicians they go to have the right credentials and the modern machines”.

Dr. Sarwat Bokhari, Head Histopathology, National Institute of Health, said, “We try to keep the diagnosis confidential – restricted to the patient – unless they want to share it with their families. There is a stigma and we try to make it as easy for the patient as possible”.

Dr. Qasim Mehmood Buttar, Senior Oncologist, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, said, “I work in a public sector hospital and we see about 80% of the patients come in at a late stage of cancer. One of the issues is lack of awareness and there is a lot of fear associated with both the disease and the treatment. We need to make people aware that breast cancers differ and the treatments differ but there is treatment. Every disease is different and treatment has to be personalized”.

Dr. Kashifa Ehsan, Cancer Awareness Physician, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and research Centre, said, “We have psychologists and support groups in the hospital working for the emotional support of the patients. Like this seminar by Serena we can request others to also make similar efforts to spread the message”.

Ms. Nadya Kamran and Ms. Palwasha Yousuf, survivors of breast cancer, shared their experiences – the diagnosis, treatment and the stages they went through.