A healthy woman contributes to the formation of a dynamic family, a strong society, and a bright future. Therefore, ensuring women's health and developing a culture of self-care are the shared responsibility of women, families, the healthcare system, and society as a whole.
As part of this task, the Ministry of Health conducts annual nationwide programs to raise awareness about breast cancer, which coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month observed from October 1st to 31st, emphasizing the need to prioritize women's health.
According to the Ministry of Health website, quoting Jafar Jandaki, an official representative of the ministry, the programs focus on three key factors in combating the disease: a healthy lifestyle, early detection, and timely treatment.
He also stated that women aged 30 to 69 are offered training programs for self-examination and screening provided at medical centers.
Breast cancer is called the most common hidden form of cancer among women. Increasing women's knowledge about breast cancer, its risk factors, self-examination, associated warning signs, and encouraging timely screening and regular check-ups will help detect the disease at an early stage when treatment is most effective.
Adopting a healthy lifestyle, including maintaining a normal weight, exercising, eating a proper diet, and avoiding sedentary behavior, smoking, and alcohol, plays a crucial role in preventing breast cancer.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month—a global opportunity to draw attention to the issue and call for action to improve access to timely diagnosis and quality treatment.
The theme 'Every story is unique, every journey matters' acknowledges that every experience with breast cancer is different. Behind every diagnosis is a person, a family, and a unique path. People may face different difficulties depending on their diagnosis, treatment, support networks, and access to medical care.
Every person affected by breast cancer deserves support and dignified treatment. And everyone, regardless of where they live, must have access to the necessary care.
All countries should strive to reduce breast cancer mortality by 2.5 percent annually to bring the world closer to the goal of preventing 2.5 million deaths from this disease by 2040. This is achievable by incorporating breast cancer services into the basic benefits package for universal health insurance and ensuring their availability in public institutions.
With the right policies, services, and investments, countries can reduce breast cancer mortality and improve survival rates.
Significant disparities in breast cancer survival persist worldwide: it is expected that 41 percent of women in low-income countries will survive at least five years after diagnosis, compared to 87 percent in high-income countries. About 70 percent of breast cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where access to early detection, timely diagnosis, and comprehensive treatment remains more limited. It is essential that everyone, everywhere, has an equal chance of surviving breast cancer.
The Ministry of Health plans to launch a national cancer treatment network in early autumn. The goal of the initiative is to consolidate scattered cancer treatment services into a coordinated, team-based, and trackable care pathway.
This measure is intended to ensure that patients entering the network follow a clear route through stages of diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, eliminating the need for patients to visit various centers. Ali Motlak, an official representative of the Ministry of Health, was quoted by ISNA in September when discussing this.
There are no plans to build new medical centers; the network will utilize existing facilities to connect specialists and medical institutions. Patients will be referred to the best center and team of doctors based on the type of cancer, the center's capabilities, the patient's place of residence, and other established criteria, he noted.
The network's activities are focused on improving the quality of care, enhancing access, and reducing the financial burden of treatment for patients. Key components of the program will also include standardizing clinical protocols, systematic patient referral, teamwork, multidisciplinary decision-making, capacity management of centers, early diagnosis, patient support, and electronic tracking and monitoring of treatment pathways, the official emphasized.
According to Motlak, free cancer treatment does not mean unconditional access to all cancer-related services and all medications for free in both public and private sectors. The program aims to minimize out-of-pocket expenses for patients for covered services in the public sector, and in certain cases, to eliminate direct payments entirely.
Recording information about patients, their referrals, follow-up, and received care will help clarify the patient's current situation, confirm receipt of necessary services, and determine which center or entity is responsible for the next stage of treatment. He continued that the program will also consider incentives for specialists and centers joining the network and adhering to its standards, such as registering core information, following clinical protocols, participating in patient referral and follow-up, and being responsible for the quality of services provided.
The first phase of the program will begin by focusing on breast cancer. Qualified centers and service providers will be identified, and the actual capacity of these services will be established. After early detection, initial assessment using imaging, biopsy, and pathology, if cancer is confirmed, treatment will commence, Motlak said.
Ultimately, the success of the network should not only be measured by the number of services provided or patients registered. The fundamental question is whether the patient received standard care—on time, in the right place, and from the right team, with minimal financial and administrative barriers—and whether their entire journey to the next stage of treatment was fully tracked. The program aims to cover other types of cancer that are a top priority in the country by the end of the current Iranian year, in March 2027, he added.