The “Painting Valletta Pink” event was held yesterday by the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF) at City Gate, Valletta.

Foundation members Betty Hanley-Lee and Helen Muscat told The Malta Independent on Sunday they were very satisfied with the response from the public.

A stall was set up at the centre of City Gate where ABCF members handed out information leaflets with detailed step-by-step self-examining procedures, as well as giving out pink ribbons and muffins to commemorate the event.

Pink Day was organised to promote awareness and encourage more women to have their breasts examined and checked every month. A rally took place to show solidarity with women who have battled breast cancer or are currently going through the ordeal.

Members of the foundation interacted with the public and collected signatures for a petition requesting further financial and medical assistance for those suffering from breast cancer.

This event was part of the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign held during October, which is recognised worldwide as breast cancer awareness month.

Asked by The Malta Independent on Sunday whether the ABCF was satisfied with the way the government has addressed this issue in Budget 2008, Ms Muscat, said that one line dedicated to breast screening was simply not enough.

She said the ABCF hoped that what the government was implementing was in accordance with the European guidelines for quality assurance, as any other directive would surely be less effective.

It is good that more women have the chance to have their breasts screened, but a mammogram is just not enough for most women, Ms Muscat explained. She went on to clarify that when women actually are diagnosed with breast cancer, there are diverse cures and treatments depending on the kind of tumour.

She added that there are 245 new cases each year of women suffering from breast cancer and that one out of these five women would need a medication called herceptin, which costs up to Lm16, 000.

Ms Muscat said that it was hard enough for these women to cope with their illness let alone having to ask banks for a loan to buy this medication. Furthermore, this treatment can also create certain allergic reactions and it has been medically proven that it can also cause cardiac problems, she added.

Chemotherapy and treatment sometimes are not enough, she said. The only treatment available on the islands is Tamoxifen, an “anti-estrogen” medication pill that slows or stops the growth of cancer cells present in the body.

Ms Muscat also said that further research has to be carried out for the best treatment possible and there should be more resources for free treatment. More consultant oncologists who can address better the specific tumour and provide the right treatment for it should be available.

The Malta Independent on Sunday also spoke to Betty Hanley-Lee who first learnt about the fatality of the illness in a cruel way when, at the age of 10, she lost her mother to it.

She said one of the aims of the ABCF is to raise funds to donate the foundation’s second biopsy gun to St Luke’s as well as providing nurses in the oncology department with laptops because one computer is just not enough for them.

She said that as more women now have the chance to do a mammogram early, this has helped to reduce the mortality of breast cancer by 48 per cent.

Betty explained that after her mother died, she was approached by the family doctor who warned her that this illness was hereditary and that she too would have to have her breasts checked on a regular basis. However, at that age a girl would rather play with her friends than ponder on such difficult situations.

The wake-up call came when she was at college and the daughter of the then president of Ireland also lost her life to this illness at the age of 20, Betty said.

She said that from then on she started having her breasts checked every month around five to seven days after her period.

It was after the birth of her first daughter, at the age of 30 that she found her first lump, which was caused by cell-changes and meant that it could one day end up as cancer. She explained that so far she has found seven lumps in just one breast all caused by cell-changes.

It was two weeks after she had one of a series of mammograms, that she found another lump in her other breast. After another visit to the oncologist and another biopsy, she decided to take the plunge and have a mastectomy, Betty said.

She considered herself lucky as she was told after surgery that the cancer had not spread. Malta has one of the best health services on an international level, she said. “In Ireland I would have had to wait for days to have another biopsy and another consultation visit, while in Malta I only had to wait for two days.”

ABCF are also holding “The walk of life” from Cirkewwa to Marsaxlokk on Sunday 28 October, which is being organised by Charles Cardona. For further information call 7997 2997.