And, that is what the first Asian Breast Cancer Congress (ABCC), inaugurated on Saturday, focused on. Over 200 leading breast cancer physicians, researchers, policy makers and patient advocates from the SAARC and ASEAN nations participated in the meet.

The primary goal of the initiative is to create a dynamic Asian network of dedicated activists with the skills, knowledge and vision to play a strategic role in shaping the continent's response to breast cancer. "Our objective is to advance the quality of breast cancer treatment and find answers to unsolved problems, which can contribute substantially to the improvement of patient survival," said the ABCC organising secretary, Dr Vineet Gupta.

The Apollo Hospitals Group flagged off the two-day event, which was chaired by Dr Clifford Hudis, chief of breast cancer medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York.

President Pratibha Patil, in her message to the congress, exhorted the medical fraternity to spread the message that cancer is curable.

Cancer in 2002 accounted for 6.7 million deaths worldwide, with 50 per cent coming from Asia. Estimated global annual breast cancer burden in 2005 was about 1.2 million new cases, of which 385,000 cases came from Asia. Four lakh woman die every year from breast cancer-related causes, with more than 75 per cent of the deaths occurring in the developing world.