'It's not a curse,' Pakistani breast cancer survivor says

A Pakistani woman who had breast cancer said she found some in her community blamed her for having the disease.

When Nagina Kaleem, from Southampton, was diagnosed nine years ago, she had friends who advised her to "go and repent", she told the BBC.

Now recovered, she wants to raise awareness and educate others with south Asian backgrounds.

"It's a disease not a curse, don't feel embarrassed, this is not punishment from your past life," she said.

"They don't think of it as a disease, they think that this is a result of a person's sins or punishment from God, or sometimes they think that this person is cursed.

"Some friends just said I should go and repent. One of my friends just stopped talking with me."

Ms Kaleem said although not everyone in the south Asian community reacted in this way, it was enough to make her believe she had done something wrong.

Ms Kaleem underwent nine months of treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a mastectomy

According to Breast Cancer Now, around 55,000 women and 370 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK.

The charity said while incidence of the disease is lower among women from ethnically diverse groups, when they are diagnosed their outcomes are poorer than for white women with breast cancer.

Manveet Basra, head of public health and wellbeing at the charity, said: "Breast health is a taboo topic among some ethnic communities, and myths and misconceptions can become barriers to women knowing the signs of symptoms of breast cancer and how to check their breasts.

"Fear and fatalism can also delay, or worse prevent, these women from visiting a GP even if they spot potential symptoms of breast cancer."

Ms Kaleem has started non-profit organisation, Cross-Culture Hub CIC, and holds workshops every month to encourage people to talk about cancer.

She said her aim is to make the topic "so common that people don't feel embarrassed or feel any fear from cancer".

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice is available via BBC Action Line.