250 new breast cancer cases, institutions remember only in October

This year alone, 250 women have been confirmed with this disease. Instinctions are being criticized that the eyes are being directed by patients only during the symbolic month against breast cancer.

It's the 13th year since it started to organise the traditional breast cancer awareness walk. This year, however, will not be maintained because of the pandemic situation, and the risk of spreading COVID-19. October, known as the pink month, marks the international month of combating this disease.

The woman who fought cancer herself says about Kosova Prees, that every tenth woman is in danger of being punished with this disease. Nafije Latifi, who is director of the Kosovar Centre for Combating Gulf Cancer “jeta/Vita”It's over 200 cases of breast cancer confirmed by this month.

Every year approximately 340 women are being punished. This month until this month, we have 250 women on board, new cases. Others survive years and we don't have any statistics, or given how many of them survive for as many years, and how many others lose their battle with the disease. Because statistics are weakness in every drop in Kosovo, so we don't have”, she says.

Women who have already begun the battle of this disease are also facing long expectations for her treatment. Latifi says even at recent meetings with Health Minister Armend Zemaj, he has demanded that at least this month be worked on eliminating these expectations.

“Civil society can do that, inform and inform the population of women about this disease. It's institutions that need to do more. We have the Oncology Institute that is now missing even the bar, and there's also a lack of sufficient staff, and there's a constant shortage of drugs. Therefore, the personnel working there with such great devotion, with an unprecedented will toward patients, cannot optimize all her work. We, in addition, have numerous shortages for patients. In addition to insufficient staff, equipment for diagnostics, especially and treatment of drugs, we also have additional needs”, Latifi points out for Kosovas.

The emphasis on what is being sought for patients is more on the donations of the associations.

“We have a huge lack of wigs, chest prosthetics, which we've been trying to secure through embassies, associations, people will welcome. This must be in system, permanent. Not cut the will for an amount. It's never enough to distribute what we distribute, and really with a broken heart, we share each time with women who can't get because of the limited number of donations”, Latifi declares.

According to her, institutions are looking to patients only during this symbolic month, for which it requires even greater care.

Therefore, our request to institutions that are repeated for years, every October, we make these requests over and over, but the owners of institutions only think about it when it's October, and when it's kind of symbolic of turning our eyes to patients”, she adds.

This symbolic month will be marked differently this year. The director of the Kosovar Centre for Gulf Cancer, points out for Kosova Prees, that not to jeopardise women's health, ordinary lectures and collections for awareness of this disease will not be held this October.

To avoid endangering the health of the population, we have decided not to make gatherings, not to keep ordinary lectures in municipalities, in different environments where we went with medical experts, and we have informed women how to detect and how to treat this disease. This year they'll be gone. Traditional walking for the 13th time unfortunately will not be maintained because a patient's life is not worth the risk. It's known that the category of women with cancer is one of the most endangered categories. And we're not going to make gatherings just so that we don't risk women from COVID-19” infection, she points out.

The director of “jeta Vita”, Nafije Latifi, has called on women to do checks, and to be shown to the doctor. According to her, early discovery is life for each woman. During this month, masks will be distributed with the symbolic breast cancer, which will be distributed in the capital squares and the Oncological Institute. More than 90 square trees will be decorated with pink fjongues.