It has been found in a survey that 52% of the women in the rural areas do not seek medical advice to treat breast cancer. They choose to cure breast cancer in traditional methods which fails to treat them and results in death.

Kinabalu Pink Ribbon President, Lucilla Pang said that these figures were obtained in a study done in the year 2003.

"There are cases of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who go into the rural parts of Sabah to provide medical examinations for them and those suspected of having cancer are advised to go to the hospitals for treatment", she said.

She also said that rural women do not have the money to visit the hospitals to find the treatment and they also have no one to care for their children.

This is the reason why they start to choose the traditional method of treatment which does not cause proper effects and result in deaths.

She advised in a "Public Health Talk on Breast Cancer Awareness" talk to all the ladies in the rural areas to seek immediate medical aid in order to be cured of this disease. This program was attended by 300 staffs and 45 ribbon members.

She said that breast cancer can only be treated if people seek medical advice and this disease can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.