With October celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness month worldwide, celebrities and luminaries unite to make a difference, stand up for the cause and become advocates for early detection of the deadly disease.
This year too, our stars left no stone unturned to be part of breast awareness campaigns, commemorate Pinktoberand serve reminders to the women of the country about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
But are these cancer awareness campaigns inspiring enough and really making a difference? Is the risk of breast cancer actually being lowered in the country? What more can be done?
With a subject that is so sensitive, the awareness needs to spread and done right. We even have brave heroes in our entertainment industry who used their star power to educate the masses that cancer can be defeated with early detection and a positive attitude.
Spotlight caught up with some of our favorite artists to know their perspective on the efficiency of the success of breast cancer awareness campaigns across the country.
Breast-Cancer Awareness Campaigns – A Game-Changer?
Over the past few years, our celebrities are working hard to make breast cancer awareness a national priority. Big brands are also actively jumping on the bandwagon to support the worthy cause.
How impactful has been the change so far?
Brave cancer-survivor, writer Asma Nabeel believes that a change is indeed apparent, but not of the required intensity.
Every year a massive number of people are gathering to do awareness in this regard. A change is occurring in women but not as per the ultimate need. However, there is an acceptance in society over a discussion about breast cancer. Now we can openly talk about the dilemma. But there is still so much left to do. The journey is still long. This awareness needs to be done throughout the year. It is beyond awareness; it is also talking about health rights.
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Actress Armeena believes that female health is still valued extremely low at a national level.
I would like to paint a positive picture and say how well we are doing and we are taking great strides in this area. But it would be disingenuous of me to put it any other way than to admit we are losing this one. Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer in Asia with almost 10 million women at risk and over 80,000 cases per year. Of these almost 50% result in death. These are shocking figures.
I am happy that Pinktober is taking off here in a big way but we need to ask ourselves some fundamental questions and understand exactly the game-changers here because this is nothing short of a national health crisis.
Why do we value human life so cheaply in this country? Why does female health come so low down in National priorities? Until we as a society face up to these questions and empower policymakers to build a national system of early testing along with a network of affordable, preferably free, treatment points, funded by appropriate taxation. I am afraid it will be just mutual back-slapping and pink lit buildings. The poor Pakistani woman will continue to die, ever early and ever alone.
However, prominent host and a strong advocate of women empowerment, Anoushey Ashraf remain optimistic about the efficacy of the breast cancer awareness movement.
I am surely noticing a change in women’s attitudes regarding the awareness of breast cancer. More people are talking about it, what it is, how it can be controlled, how it can be cured, how you can prevent the onset of cancer such as this. I am glad that all these campaigns that started a few years ago are now taking the limelight in a country where cases are very high in our part of the world.
New to the entertainment world, Nazish Jahangir added that we cannot give up at this point and continue to struggle for a bigger impact.
All these women are real-life heroes and warriors here. I have so much love and respect for them. All I can say is that they are an inspiration for all of us that at times of calamities or hurdles, we should never give up, and fighting back is the only solution.
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Breaking Taboos Together for Breast Cancer Awareness
Despite all the efforts done by the activists, it is still a social stigma in Pakistan to visit hospitals for breast examinations or even discussing the disease with their family.
While breaking silence on the matter might always be a challenge, there is still hope that one day there will be more cancer survivors in Pakistan, than those who succumb to its malignant clutches.
Armeena Rana Khan imparts the much-needed warning that introversion while dealing with breast cancer can ultimately lead the victim to death.
I am woefully under-qualified to transmit messages to the brave people on the frontline of this struggle, both the patients and the practitioners. There are amazing voices in the medical, civic, and public policy fields who are already on message regarding breast cancer. So I will amplify their message instead.
To everyone reading this please, please understand breasts are a taboo subject, especially where health is concerned. Take a break from TikTok for 5 minutes and visit YouTube to find guides on how to conduct a routine self-examination to identify any issues such as lumps etc. If you do discover any abnormalities, please tell someone. Shyness is not an option. Catch it early, you will win. Wait and you may die.
However, it is also a huge responsibility for survivors of cancer to boldly share their stories to the world at large. As a winner against breast cancer herself, Asma Nabeel strongly agrees.
I would urge survivors to come out in the open. Talk about their journey to aware people. Create more goodness and discuss breast cancer, not just for a month, but spread education around the year. Don’t keep this matter hidden or hushed. The more women will talk about it, the more massive change will occur in this regard.
Like Asma, Nadia Jamil too has recently defeated cancer. Now that she has emerged as victorious, she wants us all to look cancer in the eye and beat it as early as possible.
One in 3 women in the world will get breast cancer. Yet no one talks about self-examinations to our women, nor about getting assessed to catch cancer early. There is a fear around the name of cancer. We need to break the fear and stigmas so people learn how to examine themselves and go to doctors for examinations. The earlier we catch it the better.
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All in all, everyone who has dealt with cancer needs our love and support. For the whole nation, they are exemplary heroes as Anoushey Ashraf rightly emphasizes below.
I have survivors in my own family and I want to congratulate them if they have recovered from the effects of breast cancer. I am proud of them, I love them, for being strong and not giving up. If they can use their space in whatever little capacity to spread awareness on this type of cancer as much as they possibly can, they can truly make a difference and be bigger heroes than they possibly are.
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