Paraguay has launched its Pink October 2025 campaign to promote prevention and early detection of breast cancer. With the disease still the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Paraguay, the initiative seeks to highlight the importance of timely screenings.
Growing figures
Breast cancer remains a heavy burden for women’s health in Paraguay. In 2024, the illness claimed 333 lives, topping cervical cancer, which resulted in 262. Shocking statistics of 2025 indicate 200 fatalities already tallied in the first nine months. The National Cancer Institute (INCAN) also identified 595 new breast cancer cases during 2024 and 303 in 2025.
Most of the women affected are in the age range of 40 to 64 years, and this is a category that constitutes more than 62% of the cases. This calls for regular screening among these women. Cancer detected in the early stages significantly increases the chances of treatment success and survival.
Improving access to screenings
In order to expand coverage, the government has subsidised 32 additional digital mammography machines, bringing the country’s total to 55. Authorities installed the machines in regional and district hospitals to reduce access barriers, particularly for women living outside the capital.
Since July 2023, women aged over 40 years have been able to obtain mammograms without a doctor’s referral. Additionally, employers, by law, grant women two working days off each year for mammograms and Pap tests, ensuring work commitments do not hinder their care.
Mammography remains the most effective way of detecting lesions in an early stage when the chances for cure exceed 90%. Breast self-examination is also stressed by health authorities. Although not a substitute for medical examination, it is an important routine that can help women detect abnormal changes.
A national call to women through Pink October 2025
The nationwide campaign, coordinated by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MITIC), the Ministry of Public Health, and the Social Security Institute (IPS), calls on all Paraguayan women to take care of their health. All women over the age of 40 are invited to schedule an annual mammogram. They are also urged to stay alert to any suspicious signs.
During the course of October, the governmental social networks remind the audience with the pink sign that prevention must be a habit.
Read more: Check this public hospitals, private sanatoriums, clinics, and health centres in Asunción list, composed by The Asunción Times.
