To mark October as the "Breast Cancer Awareness Month" the Pink Ribbon National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign held a ceremony in memory of 40,000 women dying every year with breast cancer in Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion National Co-ordinator of the Pink Ribbon Omer Aftab said that Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer for any Asian population accounting to 40,000 deaths every year whereas the information available on breast cancer is very insignificant with only advanced cases of breast cancer being reported. On the other hand, he said the total spending on health sector is dismally low, that is 0.57 percent of the GDP, whereas in South Asian Region it is 4.7 percent of GDP. The available human resource in health sector in Pakistan is also quite low as it shows a ratio of 1,254 people per doctor, 2,671 per nurse, 6,235 per midwife and 18,318 per Lady Health Visitor. The ratios for female doctors, ie, surgeons, oncologists and radiologists, etc, are further far less than the above mentioned figures, he added. Omer said that in the prevailing scenario it is important to focus on prevention rather than cure as breast cancer is the only cancer if diagnosed early can be cured; the survival rate is more than 90 percent and this can be done simply by self examination. Other speakers say, for women in developed countries, rates of breast cancer have been rising over the last few decades. According to them, there is a sharp decline in physical activity in high-income countries and those in economic transition. There is less and less physical activity in our daily lives, at work and at home, as well getting from place to place. A similar trend is beginning to emerge in some developing countries. While inactivity is one of the main risk factors for breast and colon cancers, other factors, ever present in our daily lives, have been identified. Tobacco, harmful use of alcohol, poor diet and too much sun exposure are linked to cancer. Chronic infections with viruses such as those which cause Hepatitis B and C or human papiloma virus are also risk factors for cancer.