Global General

Thousands march in Slovakia to warn of breast cancer

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-19 16:43

BRATISLAVA - Some 4,000 people marched on the streets of the Slovak capital on Saturday, in a bid to enhance women's awareness of the danger of breast cancer.

An open-air concert featuring pop singers was held to attract more march participants, who were asked to wear pink T-shirts to show their support for the anti-cancer effort.

In his speech addressed to the marchers, Mayor Milan Ftacnik stressed the need to give more publicity to the issue of breast cancer thus early symptoms of the disease won't go unnoticed.

Out of the central European nation's 5 million residents, there are about 2,400 diagnosed breast cancer cases each year and the number is growing steadily. Women are thus recommended to visit a gynecologist at least once a year and to check their breasts once a month for any abnormal symptoms.

While early diagnosis and treatment do help breast cancer patients to fully recover in most of the cases, about one third of the patients seek medical help too late.