Begum Samina Alvi, wife of President Arif Alvi on Thursday said Pakistan had the highest rate of breast cancer patients in Asia and stressed that early diagnosis was the key to addressing the challenge. Speaking at a panel discussion on breast cancer awareness organized by Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association (PFOWA), she said if the women knew early symptoms of the disease, the death rate could be reduced. Begum Alvi said one in nine women in the country was diagnosed with breast cancer and added that the alarming situation required urgent steps. She said individual barriers such as lack of awareness, shyness, and natural reluctance about breast cancer resulted in diagnosis at late stages of the disease thus increasing the mortality rate.