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The Standing Committee on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights including HIV and AIDS and The Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace, under Bangladesh Medical Students’ Society, is organizing this vital awareness initiative ‘Beyond the Pink’ to focus on rehabilitation of breast cancer survivors. BMSS Bangladesh is collaborating with the Shanti Cancer Foundation and Cancer Awareness Foundation of Bangladesh for this unique approach.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates approximately 1.38 million new breast cancer cases each year, resulting in 458,000 deaths annually. Like in much of the world, breast cancer is the most common cancer amongst Bangladesh’s female population, with 32.8 per cent of female cancer patients suffering from this strain of the disease. We do not focus enough on the rehabilitation of breast cancer survivors. Roughly half of the people alive with a history of breast cancer report adverse, function-degrading sequelae related to their oncologic treatments. With the increase in the number of women who have survived breast cancer, there is a growing need to attend to the physical and emotional effects of cancer and its treatment as experienced by these survivors. Psychological distress, fatigue, weight gain, premature menopause and changes in body image are some of the long-term sequelae of breast cancer.
4 reasons why rehabilitation care is important for patients with breast cancer :
1. Rehabilitation care helps to treat the physical and mental side effects of cancer and help them return to the normal life
2. Cancer rehabilitation care is specialized to the patient’s specific needs.
3. Rehabilitation care benefits patients at any point along their cancer treatment timeline.
4. Adding rehabilitation care to cancer treatment can benefit a patient’s quality of life.
Having said the importance, ‘Beyond the Pink’ is going to organize the following set of steps throughout the event :
- Formation of a Small Working Group (SWG) that will work on creating a policy document for the rehabilitation of breast cancer survivors in Bangladesh. Call for SWG Members will be opened on 16 Oct 2021. Check out the event page to know further updates on this
- To organize an Idea Presentation Competition in zoom at 8 PM on 20 October 2021 on the topic – Addressing the challenges of rehabilitation of breast cancer survivors and Road to Rehabilitation. Participants can participate singly or as a team of a maximum of 3 persons. Participants have to give a 3-minute presentation on the topic followed by Q/A sessions from the judges. Check out the event page to know further updates on this competition.
- An Awareness Initiative at Suchona health care in the Rayerbazar, Dhaka where representatives from SCORP and SCORA, BMSS Bangladesh and Cancer Awareness Foundation of Bangladesh will participate in the screening of breast cancer, leaflet distribution and creating awareness amongst mass people.
- To organize an on-field seminar with 20 students from various institutions on 26 October 2021 from 2.30 PM-5 PM at Shanti Cancer Foundation where they will be taught about the screening of breast cancer. Participants will get an opportunity to hear from breast cancer survivors on their story and what they think about rehabilitation. Check out the event page to know about the registration process of this session.
For further queries on the event, please contact:
- Antara Raidah Rashid
Email – nora.bmss@gmail.com
Contact – +8801554132484
- Farzana Anjum Shusmita
Email – norp.bmss@gmail.com
Contact – 01988366146