Speakers called for utilising print and electronic media to create mass awareness about cancer particularly breast cancer, which is on the rise in the country. The speakers said this at a roundtable conference on Role of Media in Awareness Building on Breast Cancer, jointly organised by the Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) and the Bangladesh Forum of Journalists for Women and Children (BFJWC) at the DAM auditorium in the city Saturday, said a press release. BFJWC Vice President Nasrin Nisir presented the keynote paper while DAM President Kazi Rafiqul Alam moderated the conference. ATN Bangla Chief Adviser Saiful Bari, Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) President M Shafiqul Karim, Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital Director MA Hai, WHO's Delhi-based Regional Fellowship Officer M Khalilullah, National Cancer Institute Director Shafiul Alam and New Nation Editor Mostafa Kamal Mojumdar spoke, among others, on the occasion. According to statistics, 25 per cent of the country's women suffer from breast cancer alone. But despite the grave situation, there is not sufficient medicare facilities for the breast cancer patients due to lack of hospitals, clinics and even specialised physicians to cope with this rising ailment. The speakers -- including journalists, doctors, cancer experts, and newspaper editors -- suggested for taking efforts to find out the exact figure of the breast cancer patients in the country. In the roundtable, they suggested for coordination between media, government agencies, non-government organisations (NGOs) and international or donor agencies in this connection.
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