Parliament's historic building in Sofia will be lit up with a pink ribbon, the symbol of the fight against breast cancer, the National Assembly's press office said. The lights will be on from 7pm to 8.30pm.
The message "United in the fight against breast cancer" will also be projected onto the building. The display marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which runs through October. Parliament is joining a campaign to raise awareness of the disease.
The idea came from Prof Kostadin Angelov, chair of the parliamentary health committee. National Assembly speaker Mihaela Dotsova backs it and has taken part personally. She says that by joining, parliament shows it cares about the health of every Bulgarian woman.
The world first marked October as breast cancer month in 1985, and events have been held every year since. The Ministry of Health says on its website that the aim is to spread word about the causes of the disease and to stress prevention and early detection.
The most common risk factors are older age, past breast cancer, a family history of breast cancer, genetic predisposition and others, the ministry says. The risk can fall with moderate exercise, a healthy body weight, less smoking and less heavy drinking. Early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment.
In 2020, Bulgaria had 399.3 new cases of malignant tumours per 100,000 people. The figures come from a health care analysis cited in the National Cancer Plan for Bulgaria.
Bulgaria and Cyprus are the only two EU countries where cancer deaths have risen over the past decade. In February this year, the European Commission published its country cancer profiles.
The National Plan says rates of malignant tumours are high in women's breast cancer, and in cancers of the prostate, skin, windpipe, bronchi and lung, colon, body of the womb, cervix, bladder and others.