ISLAMABAD: First Lady Samina Alvi on Friday called on hospitals, non-governmental organisations and the civil society to work on improving screening facilities at medical setups to help detect breast cancer among women at an early stage.

Speaking at a breast cancer awareness event, Ms Alvi said early diagnosis through mammogram and ultrasound could increase the survival rate of patients by 98pc.

The event was organised by Maroof International Hospital in collaboration with the National Press Club at the Aiwan-iSadr.

It highlighted the importance of a long-term and widespread campaign against breast cancer to reduce the alarming 40,000 deaths of women in the country every year.

Samina Alvi said her sustainedcampaign from the platform of the Presidency had helped increase reporting aboutbreast cancer cases in the first and second stages, adding that early diagnosis could save lives of thousands of women in the country.

As part of the breast cancer awareness drive, the first lady said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority through cellular services relayed 140 million text messages and ringtones in Urdu language.

The relayed messages encompassed information for the general public about breast cancer, its symptoms, self-examination and timely treatment, she added.

Ms Alvi urged women to practice five-minute self-examination on a monthly basis and urgently seek medical advice on detecting any abnormal lump.

She lauded Maroof International Hospital for offering discountedscreening facilities on mammograms and ultrasounds till December 31and called upon other hospitals to follow suit.

She also urged nationaland local media to continue highlighting the disease through their programmes on a regular basis throughout the year.

CEO Maroof International Hospital Haroon Naseer said the awareness campaign under the patronage of the first lady had resulted in an increased number of reported cases of breast cancer patients, thus reducing the mortality rate.

He vowed continued support to the breast cancer awareness pro-gramme through screening facilities at his hospital.

National Press Club Finance Secretary Nayyar Ali said the jour-nalist community was committed to raising awareness about breast cancer through television programmes and newspaper articles.

A panel discussion was held on the occasion in which doctors from the departments of oncology, radiology, and gynaecology spoke about the importance of early screening.

Medical experts emphasised proper guidance for women on how they could approach medical advice after the detection of a lump during self-examination.

The panel also recommended screening and mammograms for women above 40 years of age. APP