Speakers at a seminar stressed creating awareness at grassroots levels to substantially reduce the death rate of women with breast cancer in the country.
They made the observation at a seminar on breast cancer awareness organised by Amra Nari in the capital city Dhaka on Thursday.
A number of female officials of nine departments under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works participated in the event with the objective to raise awareness, emphasize the importance of early detection and provide preventive information.
According to World Health Organisation, nearly 15,000 women in Bangladesh are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, with over 7,500 losing their lives to the decease.
Many women were unable to recognise early signs due to social barriers and lack of awareness, the experts said in the event.
Inaugurating the event, ministry of housing and public works additional secretary Md Abdur Rahman Torofdar said that creating mass awareness about breast cancer was very important to reduce deaths of women with the disease.
鈥業 hope that we will be able to reduce the death rate of women infected with the decease to zero in the country,鈥� he said.
Breast cancer expert doctor Umme Humayra Kaneta presented a keynote focusing on risk assessment, early symptoms, and importance of regular check-ups.
Founder of Amra Nari, a non-profit organisation working for women鈥檚 empowerment and social progress, MM Zahidur Rahman, was also present at the event.