Breast Cancer: A Growing Threat To Human Health

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Oct, 2025) In the sterile quiet of an oncology ward in a local cancer hospital in Peshawar, 32-year-old Noman Ali holds his ailing wife’s hand with quiet resolve to defeat breast cancer.

Just across the hospital bed of IRNUM hospital, Memona’s eyes are tired but full of fight as she prepares for her fifth round of chemotherapy.

“I never imagined it could happen to me,” Memona murmurs. “Life was normal, even joyful. I was preparing breakfast for my family one morning when I felt a sharp pain in my right breast. It was sudden... unexpected.”

What followed changed her life. After tests and consultations, the young mother was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer—a diagnosis that she describes as feeling "like hell had fallen on me." But through the darkest days, she found strength in her husband’s unwavering support.

“His motivation and belief in me pulled me out of despair,” she says. “Now, I am on the road to recovery.”

Memona’s story, though heartbreaking, is becoming more common in Pakistan and around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer has overtaken lung cancer as the most diagnosed cancer globally, with 2.3 million new cases reported each year.

While the disease primarily affects women, around 2,700 men are also diagnosed annually, making it a threat to all.

"Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that originates in the breast cells and can spread to other parts of the body if not detected early,” explains Dr. Jawad Khan, senior oncologist at the Institute of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (IRNUM), Peshawar.

“Early detection significantly improves survival rates, but unfortunately, in countries like Pakistan, many cases are diagnosed too late.”

In 2023 alone, over 685,000 people lost their lives to breast cancer, WHO data reveals.

What makes this disease particularly concerning is its indiscriminate nature and that it affects women of all ages, across all regions, and is increasingly appearing in younger women.

“We are seeing more patients in their 20s and 30s,” Dr. Jawad says. “Lifestyle factors such as poor diet, lack of physical activity, alcohol use, and genetic predispositions are all contributing to this surge.”

In high-income countries, he said the five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients can exceed 90%, thanks to early detection, advanced medical technology, and access to treatment.

In contrast, in low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan, that figure can fall below 50%.

Dr Mahmunir, senior oncologist at Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar, stresses that a lack of awareness, late diagnosis, and poor access to healthcare infrastructure are among the Primary barriers to survival.

“One in every eight women is likely to develop breast cancer in her lifetime due to poor lifestyle,” she says, “but early detection is still our best weapon.”

The financial burden of cancer care is another devastating blow for many families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The cost of chemotherapy, surgery, medications, and follow-up care often forces households into poverty, especially in countries like Pakistan, lacking universal health coverage.

She said we are leveraging print, electronic, and social media platforms to create awareness against breast cancer,” he explains. “Educational institutions and local government departments are also involved in spreading awareness.”

The experts especially appreciated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government’s support in extending these awareness campaigns to merged tribal districts, where healthcare access has traditionally been limited.

However, as Dr Mahmunir points out, awareness must be backed by action. “Without trained staff and diagnostic equipment like mammogram machines in rural clinics, awareness doesn’t translate into life-saving screenings.”

Organizations such as Pink Ribbon need to continue to fill critical gaps by promoting education and improving access to screening, but the road ahead remains long and uncertain.

As breast cancer awareness month begins this October, healthcare experts are urging not just symbolic gestures.But concrete policy changes.

“The wearing pink and participating in charity marathons helps create buzz,” says Dr Mahmunir, but real change comes through sustained government investment, improved health infrastructure, and education at the grassroots level.”

Dr Ehtisham Ali, Adviser to the Chief Minister, announced that a free cancer treatment program is now active in the province to support poor patients. “We encourage women to get mammograms every three months,” he says, especially those with family history or unusual symptoms.”

For Memona and countless others like her, each round of chemotherapy is not just a medical treatment but a battle for survival, a hope for normalcy, and a fight for a future.

“I want to live,” Memona says with a faint smile. “For my children, for my husband, for myself.”

As breast cancer casts its growing shadow across the globe, stories like Memona’s remind us that behind every statistic is a life worth fighting for.