Women self care program is breast cancer awareness program to educate women about early detection. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and leading cause of cancer among women worldwide. Pakistan has the highest incidence of breast cancer in Asia. Approximately one in every nine Pakistani women likely to suffer from breast cancer. Pakistani women show an incidence rate of 50/100,000.More than 70% of all these cases found when disease is so advanced that treatment is much less effective. What is the most disheartening fact is that many of these cases can be treated effectively if detected early. Women self care program (WSCP) a project of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (Female Branch) will campaign to address this lack of awareness through education and will help to increase Breast Cancer awareness in Pakistani women. Following activities have been planned

• Talks, Forums, Seminars, Conferences and information for diverse audience
• Distribution of literature highlighting the importance of breast self examination
• CME,s Workshops for Doctors, Nurses, LHVs, LHWs.
• Talks on breast cancer through TV, Radio
• To built a Breast Cancer web portal to help raise awareness and provide information to each women online. The portal will also allow users to share experience, promote events and fund raising activities.
• From its conception in 2010 the summary of WSCP activities is as follows
  • Total of 90 lectures, talks, Seminars in the following setup have been organized.
  • Women lawyers in Karachi city court
  • Women prisoners in Karachi central jail
  • Girl’s students of Homeopathic medical college
  • Workers women
  • Women teachers.
  • Common women, Females students in various rural and urban areas of Pakistan
  • Public and private sector hospitals and clinics
• About 5000 females have benefited from the above activities
• Doctors all over Pakistan have been provided training through workshop and hands-on training
• 100 females examined in 3 Breast cancer detection camps
• Articles published in news papers
• Meeting with consultants

In future WSCP will aim

• To give awareness to 300,000 women in Pakistan in next two years
• To acquire permanent sustainable facilities in the form of office with necessary equipments
• To acquire mammography facilities, either fixed or mobile
• To inform the women about screening protocols, referral mechanism
• To built a Breast Cancer web portal
• To built capacity by training doctors, nurses, LHVs, LHWs and community workers

For contact: Dr. Farhana Masood

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