Doctors from a cancer treatment facility in Herat province say they have seen a 30% increase in the number of patients seeking treatment for cancer in the western region of Afghanistan.
They said in the past 12 months, 4,000 people with cancer sought help – of which 50% were women.
Dr. Farooq Ahmad Sedeqqi, head of the cancer center, said 1,000 of these patients, or 50% of the women, had breast cancer.
“Almost out of every two cases [of women] that come to us, one case is breast cancer. This statistic has increased compared to the past. We need to know ways to diagnose and treat,” said Sedeqqi.
Sedeqqi added that most women are not aware of breast cancer signs which results in them seeking medical treatment at an advanced stage of the disease.
