The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign
Countries (CPAFFC) and
People to
People International (PTPI) of the United States jointly
launched a Breast Cancer Awareness project for China Wednesday.
The purpose of the project is to increase awareness among Chinese
women of the benefits and the need for regular breast
self-examinations and medical check-ups.
Phase one of the project aims to increase awareness among Chinese
women of the dangers of breast cancer and the importance of early
detection.
Phase two will be an effort to establish a number of first-class
breast cancer diagnostic centers and provide personnel training.
The first diagnostic center will be established in Beijing with the
cooperation of Beijing Union
Medical College Hospital.
CPAFFC Vice-President Li Xiaolin said many Chinese women have not
noticed the threat to their health that comes with changes in
lifestyle and diet.
She said that too much fat, a refusal to feed babies with mother's
milk, wearing too tight brassieres made of chemical fibers,
environmental pollution, and too much meat are the main reasons for
hormone imbalance which causes breast cancer.
PTPI Chief Executive Officer Mary Jean Eisenhower expressed the
hope that all Chinese women make the effort to increase their
knowledge of this global problem and take active steps towards
prevention.
The incidence of breast cancer in China has increased by at least
27 percent over the past decade, and 40 percent of the Chinese
women diagnosed with breast cancer die within five years because
the cancer is already very advanced when it is diagnosed.
PTPI is an American non-profit organization founded by former
President Eisenhower in 1956. PTPI organizes numerous international
exchanges, international educational experiences and humanitarian
programs to help foster understanding and peace.
(Xinhua News
Agency March 27, 2002)